Total pages in book: 230
Estimated words: 217798 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1089(@200wpm)___ 871(@250wpm)___ 726(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 217798 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1089(@200wpm)___ 871(@250wpm)___ 726(@300wpm)
Phoebe’s jaw dropped.
Chelsea merely laughed. “Yes. Yes, that’s exactly what he thinks. A lot of us do, but we wouldn’t say it. He’s a little sensitive. He’s been to Sanctum, but he just played around. I’ve heard he’s gone to several clubs around Europe and plays, but at least outside the actual bedroom he tops.”
That was what she’d been a bit afraid of. Yet last night when she’d taken control of the situation, when she’d seen to his comfort and given him direction, he’d responded beautifully. He’d been happier at the end of that night, though she would have bet he hadn’t realized what she was doing.
Phoebe curled her legs underneath her. “So, how long have you been in the lifestyle, Mistress?”
Well, that hadn’t taken her long. “Ten years. I met a man in graduate school. He was lovely and he had certain needs that I found I enjoyed indulging. We broke up because I came home to Loa Mali. Not much of the lifestyle here. I go on retreats two or three times a year. I have Mistress rights at some clubs in Europe. I find it relaxing, but I worry my husband-to-be will prove very traditional in this sense.”
“How will you know until you try?” Chelsea asked. “I doubt anyone has ever offered to top him before. Not in a serious way. You don’t have to pull out a whip.”
“You want me to be the sneaky top.” What she’d been so far.
“I think some subs need to be eased into what they need,” Phoebe explained. “I know I did. I thought it was distasteful until someone convinced me to try. And I probably still wouldn’t have found myself if I hadn’t been with a man I truly connected with. I can certainly see how Kash might need it. Submission for some of us is relaxing. It’s a way to find a place where we don’t have to think. For all his playboyness, he still has an enormous amount of pressure on him.”
“He did back then, too. I can see now it was why we worked. I was different than the other girls. I thought he liked to talk to me because we came from the same place, that he merely missed home. Now I look back and realize he liked it when I would take charge. I didn’t force him to make all the decisions. It’s hard to make all the choices. And I wouldn’t want a sub who needed me to direct him in his daily life. But sexually, I prefer to be in control. Again, it’s the way I’m built, but it can be hard to be different.”
It could be impossible. Lately, the trips to her clubs had been unsatisfying. She needed a permanent partner, someone she could connect with for more than a weekend or a few weeks. Someone who needed her.
She was coming up on a time in her life when she would have to decide if she would suppress that need for the rest of it. Perhaps that was why she’d given in to the queen mother so easily. Being the queen meant having a nation that needed her, a whole island of people she could fight for.
Or perhaps she’d done it because for years she’d dreamed of Kash kneeling for her, asking her for discipline, his face peaceful when she gave it to him.
That one kiss had changed her life in ways he couldn’t have dreamed of.
Should she give her marriage an actual shot?
“He might surprise you,” Phoebe said. “Ease him into it. Like I said, it really worked for me. He’s already comfortable in the lifestyle. It doesn’t scare him or make him squeamish. I know the few times he’s visited Sanctum, he tends to like to watch some of the heavier scenes. But when it comes time to play at anything beyond spanking or light scenes, he won’t participate even when there are other Doms to supervise and teach him.”
“Because he’s not truly interested in being the one holding the crop,” Chelsea said with a smile. “He likes to watch and fantasize about those heavy scenes, but I would bet real money he’s not the Dom in his head.”
Day breathed in the steam of the room, letting it relax her. “I could run a test, I suppose. If I know my future mother-in-law, she’s going to want all the bells and whistles a Loa Malian wedding can have. One of those is the Palm Ceremony.”
“Do you get hit in the face with palm fronds?” Phoebe asked. “That’s still better than fish.”
She had to chuckle at the thought. It was obvious Phoebe had never been hit with one. They could be sharp. “No, it’s a ritual to honor the first king of Loa Mali. Supposedly, he found his bride wandering on a beach. He would hide and watch her from a copse of palm trees. He asked her father for her hand in marriage, but he refused because she was from another island. The king decided to steal his bride. He rode onto the beach and scooped her up on his stallion and whisked her to the palace, where he made love to her for the first time. Her father, seeing how happy he’d made the daughter, acquiesced and the couple was married one week later. So you see, the whole fish ceremony is silly because most married couples get it on after the Palm Ceremony. We might be one of the only cultures in the world that actively tell engaged couples to take a test drive.”