Five Stars (Desire Island Series Book 5) Read online

  “It sounds like an offer that’s hard to refuse,” she said aloud. “But it’s still the busy season here. I’m not sure I could get the time off approved on such short notice.”

  Adam flushed a little, looking both embarrassed and eager. “I hope I didn’t overstep, but when I got the idea to invite you along, I ran it by Ryan. You know, we’ve been friends for years. He was instantly onboard with the idea. He not only gave his immediate assent, he thinks it’s a terrific idea.”

  He paused expectantly, his expression eager as a puppy’s. “What do you say, Shani? Will you come with me?”

  ~*~

  Adam held his breath, silently willing her to say yes.

  Because their time together was so brief, he had probably moved faster than he should have. He was aware he could be kind of pushy. Maybe it was a side effect of his dominant persona. He needed to take a step back and give her a chance to decide without feeling coerced. After all, they’d known each other such a short time.

  Shani wasn’t like anyone he’d ever met before. She was gorgeous and self-possessed, and incredibly responsive during BDSM play and lovemaking. Yet there was a certain reserve to her that was both mysterious and frustrating. He wanted to understand the real woman underneath—to break through whatever it was she was hiding behind.

  “Hey, forgive me for the hard sell,” he said. “You don’t have to decide this instant. How about let’s go down and get some breakfast? I never had dinner last night. I’m starving.”

  Shani nodded, some of the tension leaving her expression. “Okay. Yeah, that sounds good. Maybe a quick swim in the ocean afterward. I like to exercise in the morning.”

  “Perfect,” he agreed, taking heart that at least she hadn’t refused him outright.

  When he came out of the bathroom, Shani had put on a silky little sundress, her full, lovely breasts bare beneath it. The dress was the same brilliant blue as the ankle bracelet she wore. The anklet was a delicate piece made from tiny turquoise beads artfully strung on thin threads of silver and gold, and yet another beautiful example of her skill as a jewelry artisan.

  As he admired the lovely woman before him, he tried to be philosophical about the whole thing. She’d say yes, or she wouldn’t. Either way, they still had a whole glorious day and night to spend together. He wouldn’t waste another second worrying about something he couldn’t control.

  “Ready?” he said, managing a smile.

  “I am,” she agreed. She smiled back, but it didn’t reach her eyes.

  Chapter 4

  After breakfast and a refreshing swim in the ocean, Adam and Shani walked along the beach. Adam hadn’t brought up his proposal over breakfast, but it hovered in the air between them like a big, distracting balloon.

  Shani was being a coward. She wasn’t behaving like one of the five noble warrior princesses from her and her siblings’ favorite story as children. She’d allowed Sir to hold her spirit hostage, even though she’d physically gotten free of him.

  She glanced sidelong at Adam as they walked along the wet sand at the edge of the water, letting the wavelets lap over their bare feet. Maybe if she just told him outright about what had happened, he would understand.

  She opened her mouth to let the sordid tale spill, but no words came. Instead, she found herself asking, “So, how did you first get into the scene? Did you always know you were a Dom?”

  Adam looked out over the water. “That’s an interesting question. I guess I have to say the answer is yes. From the time I became aware of my sexuality, my fantasies centered around taking full control of a woman, at least in the bedroom. When I was old enough to find the porn sites, I was always drawn to BDSM—every aspect of it. And the whips and chains definitely got me going. But it was years before I acted on it.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, you should know something about me. I didn’t mention it last week because we weren’t really talking about our pasts, but I was married before, in my early twenties, for five years. We got married right out of college. I had never breathed a word about my sexual fantasies because I was under the mistaken impression back then that something was wrong with me. I defined myself as a sick puppy and only let my true nature out when I jerked off by myself. And my wife, Joanie, was as vanilla as an ice cream cone.”

  Shani smiled at the image.

  Smiling too, if a little ruefully, Adam continued, “Long story short, my need to express my true sexual nature started to get the better of me. Our marriage was floundering. I finally got up the nerve to admit my orientation to her. I guess I was hoping a change in our sex life might jumpstart things a bit.”

  “And she was totally onboard and excited to try it?” Shani asked in a wry tone.

  Adam barked a mirthless laugh. “Ha ha. I wish. No, she totally freaked out. She’d had a near rape experience in high school. Like a lot of folks in the vanilla world, she didn’t understand that consensual BDSM is nothing like that – as far from it as possible. To her credit, she tried to understand. I think she eventually got it, at least intellectually. She even agreed to try a bit of light bondage and spanking, but it just wasn’t her thing. BDSM only works when both sides are into it. It’s really not something you can fake your way through. Things really fell apart between us after that. I assumed it was because of the whole BDSM debacle. But it turned out she was having an affair with a colleague at work for a number of years. She finally confessed and asked for a divorce.”

  “That sounds rough,” Shani commiserated. “But I guess the silver lining is once you were free, you were able to explore your true nature at last.”

  “Yep,” Adam agreed. “I was like a kid in a candy store, gobbling up everything BDSM in my path. I was bored to death with my banking career, and since I was upending my life, I decided to do a total 180. I quit my job and cashed in my part of our nest egg.”

  “Fresh start,” Shani said. “I totally get that.” Boy, did she.

  “Yeah. It was scary, but also liberating. I wanted to try something completely new. I’ve always enjoyed working with my hands. When I took this leather workshop at a BDSM event, I knew I’d found my calling. I set up my own shop and I now have several guys working under me. No matter how much we produce, we can’t keep up with demand. I’ve been able to travel to all sorts of exotic places in my quest to learn new techniques and get new ideas. I actually get paid to attend BDSM events all over the world. I wake up every day and pinch myself, still not quite believing it’s all real.”

  “That’s great,” Shani said, happy for him. “Your work is really exquisite,” she added. “You use such vibrant colors in your leathers. The braiding work reminds me of Native American designs. I can see why people love your stuff. It’s not just functional. It’s art.”

  “Thanks, Shani. That means a lot to me, especially coming from an artist like you. Your jewelry, what I’ve seen of it, is really special. Where did you learn your skills?”

  Shani shrugged, her face warming at his praise. “My grandmother taught me, and I took a few courses at a local community college. While my sisters saved the money from their summer jobs for bikes and cars, I saved for beads, silver and semi-precious stones. My grandmother died when I was nineteen. She left me all her tools and inventory. It’s always been a labor of love. I’ve never really thought about doing it for a living long-term.”

  “Well, I’m sure I’m not the first person to say you should be thinking about it. Have you ever considered designing a BDSM line? Bracelets that serve as cuffs? Necklaces that serve as collars? Nipple and clit rings? I know a woman in Portland, her name is Allie Byrne. She’ll be at the BDSM Connections event. She makes her own jewelry, too. I bet she’d be glad to talk to you about what it takes to get into the business, if and when you were ever interested.”

  Shani laughed. “You’re making my head spin.”

  Adam slapped his forehead, making a comical face. “Oh, man. I’m doing it again. Pushing you—rushing you. I’m sorry. I—”<
br />
  “No,” Shani interrupted. “Please don’t apologize. You’ve done nothing wrong. I’m just overwhelmed by all this. It’s sounds amazing and wonderful and I’d be nuts not to say yes to all of it. It’s just…”

  She wanted to tell him. She did. But somehow the words just wouldn’t come.

  But at the very least, he’d helped her to see it was time to stop hiding—to stop running from a past she couldn’t change by willing it away. Her mother and grandmother would have said the spirit gods had sent Adam to bring her home. Who was she to stand in the way of the spirit gods?

  She stopped walking, and Adam stopped too, a questioning look on his face.

  She took a deep breath and said, “Yes. Yes, Adam. I would be honored to come with you to Portland.”

  Adam’s face broke into a wide, sunny smile that warmed Shani to her bones. Pulling her into his arms, he lifted and whirled her in a circle as they both laughed.

  Setting her back on her feet, he said, “Now, if you’re game, I want to check out that new forced orgasm tower Ryan was telling me about. That luscious ass of yours needs some pretty new marks. And it’s been, what, at least seven hours since your last orgasm? That’s way too long.”

  ~*~

  They took a quick shower together in Adam’s bathroom to wash the ocean salt from their skin. Afterward, Adam pulled on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt, but instructed Shani to remain naked. He packed his gear bag with several gorgeous impact toys including a flogger, a leather paddle and a snake whip.

  All the pieces were Adam’s handiwork. The snake whip was especially beautiful. It was artfully braided and dyed so it looked like an actual snake, with vivid oranges, reds and blacks woven together in an intricate pattern. Shani’s skin tingled with anticipatory expectation.

  It was only a little after nine when they walked into the main dungeon. A couple of training sessions were already in progress, and a handful of guests were engaged in scenes at various stations. Adam made a beeline for the new piece of equipment.

  Happily, the station was unoccupied. One of the newer acquisitions in the dungeon, Shani had yet to try out the tower. Made of steel, it consisted of a tripod base with a single bar rising about six feet high for the sub to stand against. There were two adjustable horizontal spreader bars with cuffs attached to secure the wrists and ankles, as well as a leather collar strap. A Hitachi wand was already set into the stand at the front of the tower, ready to be adjusted so its head rested snugly between spread legs. Just looking at the thing instantly got Shani’s juices flowing.

  At Adam’s direction, she assumed her place in front of the tower. She leaned back against the cold steel bar, her feet planted on either side of the spreader bar. The vertical rod ran the length of her spine all the way to the base of the apparatus.

  Adam set about locking her ankles into the cuffs. Next, he secured her wrists. Just the act of being bound sent Shani instantly into submissive headspace, her clit throbbing, her nipples erect, her heart fluttering.

  He came around to stand in front of her. “We’ll need to remove your staff collar so it’s not in the way of the tower’s collar strap. “Is that okay? Any trigger issues with being restrained in that way?”

  “No,” Shani said quickly. “I have no problems with neck restraints. Last night was… It’s… it’s the choking that must be a trigger,” she finished in a rush, not wanting to get into any more detail. “This is fine. I promise.”

  He regarded her silently for a moment, as if weighing the sincerity of her remark. Finally, he nodded. “Okay. Any problems at any time, just tell me, okay? No powering through something that stresses you. That’s not what this is about. It should be fun and sexy for us both, right?”

  “Right,” Shani agreed, relieved he hadn’t pressed her. “Thank you.”

  He unbuckled the staff collar and set it aside. As he secured the attached strap around her neck, he commented, “It makes things easy with that crewcut of yours. No hair to get tangled up in leather or to get in the way of impact toys. Is that why you keep it so short?”

  Shani took a deep breath and closed her eyes, refusing to allow the dark memories to invade and pollute her mind. She forced a smile. “I kept it long my whole life until… until recently. I just wanted a change. A radical change.”

  “Well,” Adam said, smiling. “It suits you. Though I’m sure you’d be absolutely gorgeous with your hair any length.”

  Her smile became more genuine. “You’re embarrassing me.”

  Adam shrugged. “The truth is the truth. You’re breathtakingly lovely from the top of your head right down to your toes.”

  “You ain’t so bad yourself,” she retorted. “Now, stop torturing me by not torturing me,” she added with a laugh. “I’ve been dying to try this tower out.”

  “Yes, Mistress,” he said, chuckling. “Right away, ma’am.”

  He removed the sterilized wrapper from the Hitachi wand. Pulling a tube of KY from his bag, he smeared both the wand head and her labia with plenty of lube. She moaned softly as his deft fingers moved lightly over her sex. Crouching, he positioned the wand carefully between her legs, adjusting it until the head was nestled snugly against her clit.

  Taking a step back, he let his eyes move over her body, his tongue appearing on his lower lip as his eyes hooded with lust. “My, my, my,” he said, an evil smile lifting his sensual lips. “You do present a pretty picture, slave girl. I can’t wait to drive you wild with pleasure and erotic pain.”

  He flipped the wand to its lowest setting, just enough to tickle her clit and send a pleasant vibration through her sex. Unzipping his gear bag, he pulled out the flogger, which was dyed a rich burgundy red. “Seashell, right?”

  “Yes, Sir.” Shani had chosen a new safeword when she came to Desire Island, as part of her fresh start.

  “Are you ready to suffer for me?”

  “Yes, Sir,” Shani managed, her voice hoarse with excitement. She cleared her throat and swallowed hard.

  Adam moved to stand behind her. Shani sighed with pleasure as the flogger brushed her skin. She didn’t only want what Adam offered. She needed it. It fulfilled something deep in her soul. It was as essential as oxygen to her well-being.

  He warmed her flesh from shoulder to thigh while the wand strummed at her clit. As the intensity of the flogging increased, the pure pleasure edged into stinging erotic pain. He didn’t stop until she was gasping.

  “Breathe,” he reminded her as the flogger fell away. “We’re just getting started.”

  He appeared in front of her, the leather paddle now in his hand. “You ready for more?”

  “Yes, please,” she gasped, her heart thudding, her clit throbbing. She drew in a deep, shuddering breath and let it out slowly, recentering herself.

  Disappearing again behind her, Adam smacked her ass with the stiff leather, delivering the first real pain. Shani yelped, her cheeks stinging from the blow. He whacked her again and again until her ass was on fire. Restrained as she was, she was unable to move at all, save for her head, which she turned from side to side in her effort to handle the erotic pain.

  “You need more distraction,” he said, appearing again in front of her. Reaching down, he turned the wand a fraction higher. The increased vibration sent a shudder through Shani’s frame and she moaned.

  “Don’t come,” Adam instructed. “Not until I say so. Understood?”

  “Yes, Sir,” she managed, willing her body to obey.

  He pulled the wicked snake whip from the bag and snapped it in the air in front of her. Its sonic crack made her wince.

  Adam was not only skilled at crafting whips, he was skilled at using them. Working around the vertical steel bar that bisected her body, he expertly snapped the whip against one cheek and then the other in rapid succession. Still tender from the paddle, Shani cried out, tears springing to her eyes.

  “You can do it,” Adam assured her, his mouth close to her ear. “It turns me on to make you suffer in this way. Does it
excite you, too, my sexy masochistic girl?”

  “Yes,” she admitted breathlessly. “More, please.”

  He disappeared again and a moment later, the snapping flick of the whip sparked against her ass. The raw, stinging pain slowly segued into dark, deeply satisfying pleasure. The wand was pulsing at her clit in perfect time to the welcome lash. The vibrator made her body thrum as the whip continued to strike. In spite of being balanced on the precarious edge of orgasm, Shani’s breathing slowed, a deep calm settling over her being.

  He reappeared in front of her, the snake whip still in his hands. “I want to mark your beautiful breasts. Do I have your permission?”

  “Yes, please,” she said huskily. Her body was trembling from the steady thrum of the wand at her sex. It was set at a level that kept her just on the edge of climax, without quite allowing her to tumble over.

  The whip snapped across her breasts like a swarm of angry bees. Tears sprang to her eyes, her chest heaving. When it flicked over one nipple and then the other, she screamed.

  He eased off, his touch almost gentle as the whip whispered over her breasts. The pain lifted once more, overtaken now by masochistic pleasure that surrounded her like a warm, soft cocoon.

  There was enough leeway with the neck strap that she was able to let her head fall back against the bar, her face lifting to the ceiling. Her hammering heartbeat slowed and deepened as peace pervaded her being…

  After a while, she became aware that the whipping had ceased. Her face still tilted toward the ceiling, her eyes closed, she heard rather than saw Adam in front of her.

  All at once, the vibrations at her sex intensified, instantly yanking her from her sensual lethargy. Her body shook with nearly unbearable pleasure. “Oh god, oh god, oh god,” she heard herself chanting as the wand drew her rapidly toward a powerful climax that would happen, with or without permission.