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  While Kate struggled to recover herself, Master John turned to the small woman.

  "I was just asking Ashley here to volunteer as my whipping girl, but she refused. You interested?"

  "You know it, babe." Stacey laughed. "You can do things with a bullwhip that make a masochist swoon."

  She winked at Kate, offering in a stage whisper, "I bet his bullwhip isn't the only thing that could make a girl swoon."

  Someone was calling Master John, and he swiveled toward the voice.

  "Later, lovely ladies."

  As they watched him move away, Stacey sighed and

  shook her head.

  "Figures. The newbie wins the prize. Not that I'm surprised. He always chooses the best looking girl to set his sights on."

  "What?" Kate suddenly felt like she was in high school again, the focus of the captain of the football team.

  She'd hated high school, and didn't welcome the feeling.

  "Master John. If he chooses you to play with tonight, you'll be sure to get your money's worth."

  "Oh, I'm not here to,"

  "Spare me, honey. We're all here for one thing. Might as well admit it and have some fun."

  Kate stared at Stacey, trying to form a retort, but no words came.

  Maybe Stacey was right. Maybe Kate should just kick back and enjoy it. What the hell? It was her secret adventure. She could reinvent herself, just for this one weekend. After all, it was Ashley Kendall who was attending.

  Kate Alexander could remain safely hidden, watching from the sidelines, taking notes.

  CHAPTER 2

  Kate settled down cross-legged next to Stacey on a

  large throw pillow in a corner of the warehouse. After mingling for a while longer that morning, they'd gone together to check in to the motel, a functional space with barely room enough for two beds and a bureau of some kind of yellowish brown material that yearned to be wood.

  The room had poorly plastered walls and a bathroom the size of a small closet.

  Stacey shrugged off the meager accommodations, assuring Kate with a broad wink that she wouldn't be spending much time in it anyway, so who cared.

  They'd sat through a required speech by Marianne and Marty, or M&M as they liked to call themselves, the partners who had started Power Play a few years back. They'd talked from a stage that had been set up in another corner, outlining the rules and regulations for the event to the group of people sitting on folding chairs.

  Kate had looked for but hadn't seen Master John. Maybe he was exempt from the rules, or already knew them by heart.

  As far as she could tell, pretty much anything went. Since it wasn't a public venue, the rules that applied to BDSM clubs, such as "no exchange of bodily fluids" didn't apply here. Sex and nudity were fine, as long as everyone involved was having fun. They harped on the usual bywords of safe, sane and consensual, and briefly outlined the rules, including negotiating the limits of a scene in advance and using Power Play's standard safeword of "red".

  They reviewed proper etiquette when it came to watching other people's scenes, which included staying quiet, showing respect and never interrupting unless someone appeared to be in danger.

  Everything was optional you could attend what you wanted in the way of seminars and workshops, or just spend your entire time in the dungeon devising scenes of your own. The dungeon had been set up in the basement of the warehouse, and Stacey assured Kate she wouldn't want to miss it. But for now they were waiting for the Sensual Bondage Techniques class to start.

  There were eight couples situated around a small dais, if Kate and Stacey could be called a couple. Many of them had various lengths of rope and other implements set out in front of them.

  Stacey told Kate it didn't matter if they didn't have their own stuff. Chase would provide it.

  "Chase is a bondage expert. I've been to this class before.

  It's fun. He's very hands-on."

  Stacey waggled her eyebrows and hugged herself suggestively, making Kate laugh.

  The man in question chose that moment to step onto the small dais in front of them. He was carrying a large duffel bag, which he set down beside him. He was about five foot ten inches, with wavy dark brown hair in a kind of shaggy cut, the bangs too long over his eyes, hair curling down the back of his neck.

  He had very blue eyes an unusually dark blue, and three days stubble on a pleasant if unremarkable face.

  Unlike most of the folks decked out in their Goth and SM gear, he was wearing a white button down shirt tucked into

  faded jeans with a prominent hole in the left knee. On his feet were sneakers of no discernible brand.

  He was the opposite of Master John, Kate thought.

  Instead of giving her the jitters, he was easygoing, calming somehow. Instead of exciting her, he relaxed her. "Greetings."

  He smiled toward the group. There was a smattering of applause and a few greetings called out in return.

  "My name is Chase Saunders. Most of you know me but I do see a few new faces."

  He looked at Kate, and the smile he offered her transformed his face from ordinary to lively and warm. Despite herself, Kate found herself smiling back. She relaxed for the first time that day, easing into the cushions.

  His eyes still on Kate, Chase continued.

  "There's a whole gamut of bondage techniques and we could spend literally a solid week and still not cover it all. Rope can be used in a utilitarian manner for the simple binding of a bottom for play or display, or it can be used as an art form, as in the case of classic Japanese Shibari rope bondage.

  "For this particular seminar we won't be getting into the really complex knots that can drive a bottom nuts."

  There was scattered laughter.

  "You know what I'm talking about."

  Chase grinned, looking over the group.

  "Your partner wants to be tied up, but they just don't appreciate your beautiful knot work that's taking way the fuck too long. I'll show you three ties that can be done in under five minutes, but will still give your partner what they seek."

  He fixed his eyes on Kate.

  "The tight, inescapable feel of rope against skin."

  Kate swallowed, her wrists suddenly tingling at the lack of rope.

  She rubbed them, aware of a prick of desire deep inside. Before Victor had categorically decided that what they were doing was sick, perverted and wrong, they had engaged in some bondage, though it had never been as intense or restrictive as Kate would have liked. Mostly just tying her spread eagle to the bed, and some light breast bondage. Chase, his attention now on the couple beside Kate and Stacey, continued.

  "Whether they're into comfortable long-term bondage or more restrictive short-term binds, these ties will work."

  He picked up a length of soft white rope, twisting it in his hands.

  "The way that you handle the ropes can create a romantic scene. When most folks think of having sex with their partner tied up, they think of the spread eagle bed tie. Which is fine as far as it goes, but there's so much more you can do.

  We'll learn basic parallel limb ties, wrist-to-ankle, frog-ties and lots more.

  "For you total newbies, I'll show you basic knots and positions and we'll talk about technique, safety

  considerations and the type of rope everyone should have in their play kit." He jumped down from the dais.

  "Okay. Let's get started. need a victim, er, volunteer." Laughter.

  "Anyone?"

  He approached Stacey and Kate, who were sitting closest to the dais. Reading her nametag, he said,

  "Ashley. I haven't seen you here before. New to the scene?"

  Before Kate could reply, Stacey piped up.

  "She's just moved here from Paris. Doesn't speak a word of English. Pick me, Chase. I'll be your volunteer. Let's work on those sex positions."

  Stacey popped up, smoothing her leather skirt over her thighs.

  The group laughed, Chase included.

  "Paris, huh?" he s
aid, eyeing Kate once more.

  "Lower Hudson Valley," Kate admitted, before recalling she was incognito.

  "Stacey's got an active imagination."

  Chase smiled. "That she does."

  He turned toward Stacey, his smile perhaps a bit rueful.

  "I guess I have my volunteer then."

  He led her up to the dais and demonstrated a few simple positions. Kate silently marveled at how at ease Stacey seemed to be with herself. It had the effect of making

  her far more attractive than when Kate had first laid eyes on her,had it only been a few hours before? Something about being truly comfortable in your own skin was a definite

  turn-on. It was something, even at thirty-two, Kate knew she had yet to master. Stacey returned to the mat beside Kate as Chase moved from couple to couple, working hands-on while keeping up a running commentary. Stacey and Kate took turns practicing the knots and bondage positions on each other, and Kate found herself really enjoying the workshop.

  Chase was informative, funny and easy to listen to.

  Though they were only fooling around, Kate couldn't deny the sexual thrill that edged through her when Stacey bound her in various positions, or the delicious feeling of erotic helplessness being bound engendered in her.

  Without invitation, Master John slipped into her mind. What if, instead of Stacey, he was beside her now, raking her body with that burning stare? Or murmuring something sexy in

  her ear while he secured her wrists and upper arms behind her back with a few simple but effective knots? Would Kate kneel up, legs spread wide, and permit him to bind her wrists to her thighs, leaving her open to him as his fingers slid between her legs, seeking her sweet spot, claiming her...

  Kate shook her head, embarrassed at her musings, glad no one else could see into her head. What was she thinking?

  Well, that was just it. She wasn't thinking. She was letting her body do the thinking for her. She pressed her legs together, willing the ache in her pussy to subside.

  Later that afternoon, Kate found herself in the front row beside Stacey for Master John's seminar on whipping techniques. This one was held on the stage and was more widely attended than the bondage workshop had been.

  Though it was five minutes past the start time, Master John was nowhere in sight. There was someone on the stage however.

  A young slender Asian woman with long dark hair was kneeling there, her eyes down, her hands resting on her thighs, palms upward. Around her neck was a red leather collar, with matching cuffs secured around delicate wrists. She was dressed in a thong and a black waist cincher, her small, high breasts bare above it.

  The contrast of red rosebud lips, pale skin and the black of the cincher and her silky hair was striking. Kate was usually comfortable with her height, once she'd outgrown the praying mantis gawkiness of her teenage years, but looking at the graceful petite figure before her, she suddenly felt large and gangly by comparison.

  "She's beautiful," Kate murmured.

  "She needs a sandwich," Stacey retorted.

  "Does she, uh, belong to Master John?" Kate asked, telling herself it didn't matter one way or the other.

  "No. She's George's latest toy."

  Stacey gestured toward a slight, balding man with a receding chin and prominent ears, flanked by two women, both of whom wore the same red collars and wrists cuffs worn by the woman on stage.

  "He collects slaves. Always brings at least three with him to these things. I don't know what he's got—it sure ain't looks.

  Probably money, and lots of it. I've met Jen and Gretchen, the two next to him, but the Asian girl toy is new. Calls herself Lotus Flower." Stacey snorted.

  Just then the audience broke into polite applause. Master John came onto the stage and turned toward the group, flashing a perfect, white smile right at Kate.

  "Ash, he's staring straight at you," Stacey whispered, nudging Kate sharply in the ribs. It took Kate a fraction of a second to process the use of Ash, before remembering she'd signed up with her pen name.

  "He is not," she denied reflexively, though he did seem to be.

  Ridiculously, she felt herself coloring. She hadn't blushed this much since high school, and it was annoying the crap out of her.

  So what if he was handsome and dominant? She was here for research, not to pick up a guy, no matter how GQ perfect he might be.

  Master John stepped toward a low table at the back of the stage that Kate hadn't noticed before, distracted as she'd been by the petite beauty. There were several whips and floggers laid out on the table. Master John selected an ominous looking plaited single tail whip, letting it unfurl as he moved toward center stage.He paused beside the girl, stroking back the curtain of shiny black hair as he bent to murmur something to her.

  Apparently satisfied with her response, he returned to the front of the stage and addressed the audience.

  "I was going to start with flogging and move you slowly along the continuum."

  He spoke with a slight Southern accent she hadn't noticed when they'd been speaking one-on-one. It had a pleasing lilt, maybe Georgian, she thought. She could just picture him with a cowboy hat perched on his head, mounted astride a stallion, posing shirtless for one of those eye candy

  calendars. She tried to focus on what he was saying.

  "But I figured you all have been there, done that. Lotus Flower has graciously agreed, so we'll be moving directly to a bullwhip demo instead."

  He gestured toward George.

  "If that's okay with you, George."

  George nodded.

  "Excellent," John said, his eyes narrowing.

  He moved toward the edge of the stage and held up the long, imposing whip.

  "This, my friends, was handmade by Adam Simon."

  There were murmurs of approval.

  "Adam's a master whip maker out of Australia," Stacey explained. "His stuff is ridiculously expensive. Uses the leather from a rare breed of yak found only in Tibet."

  Kate wrinkled her nose.

  "You're kidding right?"

  "Uh ... yeah." Stacey laughed, shaking her head.

  "Actually I think it's kangaroo hide. Weird enough though, huh."

  Kate nodded. Master John held up the whip.

  "If you're thinking about buying one of these babies, this is one of the best there is. It's made from kangaroo hide, which is the strongest type of leather for its weight in the world."

  Stacey turned toward Kate with a triumphant grin.

  "Do I know my bullwhips or what?"

  Kate smiled back. She hadn't planned on liking Stacey, but found herself doing so anyway. Master John's voice had taken on a different tone, what Kate would have called lecture mode, if he'd been a professor.

  "Kangaroo hide is the best for fine plaited work of eight strands or more, which this one is."

  He ran his hand along the plaited leather.

  "But I wouldn't recommend eight strands as a starter. It can be hard to handle. If you're just getting into bullwhips, I would suggest a four plait stock whip or bullwhip, since they're hard wearing and aren't the price of a small car like this baby."

  There was laughter, and someone called out.

  "Enough talking—let's see it in action."

  All at once Master John flicked the whip out toward the audience, the sharp crack causing Kate and several others to gasp and flinch. Master John offered a lazy smile.

  "Patience, Frank," he said to the man who'd called out, "is a virtue not only subs need to cultivate, apparently."

  The group laughed. Kate noticed the girl on stage still hadn't moved. How in the world did she kneel there like that?

  Kate would have been fidgeting all over the place by now, no question. Still ignoring the girl, Master John continued.

  "As I just demonstrated, a bullwhip's length, flexibility, and tapered design allow it to be thrown in such a way that, towards the end of the throw, part of the whip exceeds the speed of sound, thereby creating a small sonic boom. I
t's all in the wrist. The force required from the person holding the whip is very minimal to make it crack. It only requires a change of direction or a change in speed."

  As he continued the lecture, Kate found she too would rather see a demonstration than listen to him go on and on.

  Chase had talked a lot of shop too, she recalled, but he'd done so while demonstrating, or helping someone in the group in a very hands-on approach. Of course, she told herself, Master John couldn't very well do that with a bullwhip. Still, as he droned on she found herself suppressing a yawn.

  "A bullwhip consists of a handle section, a thong, a fall, and a cracker. The main portion is the thong, this braided part here."

  She zoned out for a few minutes, thinking about a possible plotline, but her attention was sharply recalled by a second sonic cracking of the whip.

  "Stand up, Lotus Flower. It's time to give them what they came for." Master John's voice lowered into a seductive purr, the lecturing tone gone. Gracefully the young woman rose to her feet, which were bare.

  "Turn around, bend over and grab your ankles. Don't come out of position until I tell you."

  Lotus Flower nodded, her face serene. Kate marveled at how calm she was, half-naked on a stage, waiting to feel the sharp sting of that dangerous looking whip. No way in hell would Kate ever volunteer for that! The girl assumed the ordered position, her legs perfectly straight. Peering more closely, Kate detected marks along Lotus Flower's small, round ass and slender thighs, pale lines that had faded with time, criss-crossed with fresher, darker welts still healing.

  "Is that okay, do you think?" Kate whispered to Stacey.

  "She's already marked."

  Stacey shrugged.

  "George's girls always take a lot. Don't worry, Master John knows what he's doing. He wouldn't have accepted her as a volunteer if it wasn't safe."

  Kate nodded, though she wasn't convinced. Not that she knew anything, a few months of experimentation a few years back did not her an expert make. Trying to suspend her anxiety, she focused on the stage, her gut clenching in

  nervous anticipation.

  Master John stood to the side of the bent girl and flicked the wrist of his whip hand. The sharp crack split the air and again Kate flinched. The girl flinched too, her first reaction. A long white line appeared on her left ass cheek that quickly changed to red. A second later Master John added an identical stripe to the other side. The girl cried out but