do when you fall in love and can’t have both anymore?”
“Love? That seems a little hearts and flowers for you, doesn’t it?”
Strangely, that comment centered Addie. The oh so confident Lane didn’t know her as well as he thought he did. For Addie, love conquered all. Romance was the heart and soul of L.A.’s laid-back rockabilly scene—it was what had first drawn her to the subculture. Lane said he knew sex, but Addie knew love. “Maybe, but you didn’t answer.”
“I’m only thirty-four, I have time to find the right one.”
The right one for what?
Addie took a sip, letting the bubbles fill her mouth. Lane had taken a seat on the couch. He wore dark-wash jeans and a white button-down, open at the throat. The leather jacket he’d been wearing when she first walked in was missing now, but the scent of leather lingered around him.
“Stand up.”
Lost in her perusal of him, it took Addie a minute to process what he’d said, to understand the shift in tension.
“Are we starting?”
“Yes. You’re free to speak whenever you want, but should be aware that most Doms have a strict speak-when-spoken-to policy. Stand.” This time the word was harder, harsher.
Addie set her glass on the table at her elbow with trembling fingers and rose. She bit back every sassy comment that sprang to mind. Lane’s eyes were intense, dark. Taunting him seemed…unwise.
“Unbutton your shirt.”
Addie put her fingers to the first button, took a breath, and slid it free. Lane leaned forward, watching each movement with intense eyes. When she had the buttons undone to the high waist of her pencil skirt, she stopped.
“Open your shirt, tuck it to the sides so I can see your breasts.”
Addie folded the fabric to the sides. She’d worn one of her favorite lingerie sets. Made of leopard print and cinnamon lace, the bra, like so many of her clothes, was modeled after a 1940s style and covered more of her than most modern bathing suits. She’d thought it would help her feel less exposed when she reached this point, but standing there with her shirt open, breasts on display, she felt more naked, more vulnerable than she could ever remember feeling.
What had she gotten herself into?
“Sit.”
What?
“Sit, Addie.”
Confused, Addie lowered herself into the chair. As she did so, the edges of her shirt slid back into place, covering her breasts.
“Fix your shirt. If I give you a command or ask you to do something you must maintain that position or order until I change the command or tell you to stop.”
Addie tucked the edges of her shirt against her sides. SJ caught her attention. The photographer was behind Lane, quietly taking photos, the lens focused on Addie’s chest.
“You know the safe words. Now, some rules about your body.”
“My body?” Exactly how much control was she supposed to give over?
“A submissive should never cover herself. That doesn’t apply right now, as we’re still undressing you, but once you’re naked, you’ll need to sit with your legs spread, rather than crossed.”
Addie looked down at her legs, which she’d crossed at the ankle and tucked under the chair—a proper lady’s pose. “That’s…obscene.”
“No, it’s sexual.”
“I assume men made up these rules. Sexy doesn’t have to be obvious.”
“It’s not about sexy. It’s about the sub and Dom both knowing that the Dom can and will touch his sub’s pussy whenever and however he wants. Stand. Remove your skirt.”
Addie did not want to take off her skirt. Not after what she’d just heard. It wasn’t that she didn’t want Lane to touch her—that she was looking forward to. She didn’t like the idea of sitting there with her legs spread like a bitch in heat or an ill-mannered tramp. She placed her hands on the arms of the chair, ready to stand…but couldn’t do it.
“Addie, stand up.”
She licked her lower lip, then shook her head. “I can’t.”
“You mean you don’t want to.”
She shook