Page 20 of At Her Service (Club Velvet #2)

CHAPTER 20

I can’t believe I agreed to this. Why did I agree to this?

Abby drew in a deep breath. She and Valerie were due on stage any minute now. After a long discussion about what Abby was comfortable with, Valerie had left her sitting in the empty VIP room that overlooked the club while she prepared the stage for their performance.

What that performance would involve? Only Valerie knew.

She took another deep breath. Valerie had made it clear that she could back out at any time. But she wanted this.

So why was she nervous?

A hand touched her shoulder. She jumped. It was Valerie.

“It’s time.” She held out her hand. “Let’s go.”

Abby took her hand and got to her feet. As Valerie led her downstairs and into The Playroom, her pulse thrummed in her ears, drowning out the music booming through the club. The Playroom was packed, the crowd buzzing with electricity.

And soon, that crowd would be looking at her.

When they reached the stage, Valerie led her into the wings and out of view of the audience. “There are still a few last-minute preparations to be made, but it won’t be much longer. The stage was set up for a professional rope artist. While I’m partial to bondage, I’m no shibari expert. I had to tweak things, have some supplies brought over.”

Abby peered out at the stage, where a woman dressed in black was looking over the equipment set up behind the drawn curtains. A metal suspension frame, slightly taller than a person and shaped like a tripod, took center stage. Next to it was a small table arrayed with equipment. From the wings, Abby couldn’t make out what any of the equipment was. The possibilities sent her mind racing.

But her excitement couldn’t dissolve the lump in her throat.

The stagehand gave Valerie a nod before disappearing into the wings at the other side of the stage. That could only mean one thing.

It was go-time.

Abby’s heart thundered inside her chest. Am I really doing this? What if something goes wrong? What if I humiliate myself? What if ? —

Valerie’s voice interrupted her thoughts. “Are you ready?”

Abby nodded.

Valerie took both of her hands. “Are you sure? It’s not too late to back out. Just say the word.”

She shook her head. “I don’t want to back out. I want to do this.”

“All right. What’s your safeword?”

“Topaz.”

“Good. You can handle this, okay?”

She nodded again.

“Abby, look at me,” Valerie said.

Abby obeyed.

“I know you’re feeling anxious. Tell me, what’s going on in your head right now?”

“I…” Abby bit her lip. “I don’t know. I want to do this, but I can’t stop thinking that it’s all going to go wrong . I’m going to make a fool of myself, and it’ll be humiliating, and…”

She swallowed. Saying it out loud only made her more nervous.

“Let me ask you a question,” Valerie said. “Do you trust me?”

“I do. I wouldn’t have agreed to this if I didn’t.”

“And do you think that I would ever, for a second, let anything bad happen to you?”

“Well… no.”

“That’s right. So trust me when I say that I will be in complete control of everything that happens on that stage. Trust me when I say that I won’t let anything go wrong. I’ll take care of you. I’ll keep you safe. And I won’t push you harder than you can handle.”

Abby nodded. “Yes, Madame V.”

“And I’ll do more than take care of you,” Valerie said. “I’ll make you feel so good that nothing else will matter. Not your nerves. Not the crowd. Nothing . I’ll make you so intoxicated with pleasure that everyone watching will feel what you feel, will wish they were in your place. I’ll make you feel so divine that the only word on your lips will be my name as you beg me for release.” She cupped Abby’s cheek in her hand, her lips brushing Abby’s ear as she whispered. “I’ll make sure every single person in this club knows how deeply and utterly you’re mine .”

Valerie pressed her lips to Abby’s, kissing her softly. Abby trembled, desire rippling through her. She closed her eyes, dissolving into the kiss, her doubts, her anxieties crumbling to dust.

And in their place was an unquenchable need .

Valerie broke away. “Now, do you still want to do this?”

“God, yes,” Abby said.

“Then there’s one thing left to do before we begin.”

Valerie reached over to a shelf next to them. On it was a thick leather collar and leash, accented with gold.

Valerie picked up the collar. “Turn around. I’ll put it on for you.”

Abby turned. Valerie slipped the collar around her neck, the heady scent of new leather filling the air.

“This isn’t exactly my style, but at such short notice, I had to take what I could get.” Valerie leaned in, the heat of her breath tickling the back of Abby’s neck. “When you get a real collar from me, it will be a collar worthy of my submissive. A collar you can wear proudly that will show the world how precious you are to me.”

Abby let out a quivering breath. A collar of her own, a Domme of her own, someone she could truly belong to?

Nothing excited her more.

Valerie fastened the collar and turned Abby around to face her. “How does that feel?”

“It feels…” Abby brought her hands to her neck, tracing her fingertips over the collar. It fit snuggly, but it didn’t feel tight or constricting, and it had a reassuring weight to it. “It feels perfect.”

Valerie drew her fingers down Abby’s cheek, then picked up the leash from the shelf and clipped it to the collar. “Let’s go put on a show.”

As if on cue, the music in The Playroom faded, and the lights above the stage flickered on. The chatter of the crowd dropped to a murmur, silence settling over the room.

Then, the music began again, softly to start. And as the curtains rose, the music rose with it.

“Follow my lead,” Valerie said. “You’ll know what to do.”

Abby nodded. And, leash in hand, Valerie drew her onto the stage.

A cheer rose from the crowd. Abby stole a glance at the audience. It was as if all the women in the entire club had packed into the room. Every eye was on them.

Abby lowered her gaze, staying a few steps behind Valerie as she led her to the metal frame at the center of the stage. With a tug of the leash, she reeled Abby in to her until barely an inch separated them, then used the leash to tip Abby’s chin up. There was a command in Valerie’s eyes, the same command she’d given Abby that day in the hidden room behind her study.

And just like that day, Abby obeyed.

She dropped to her knees. Hands on thighs. Head lowered. Facing Valerie, her back to the audience. Valerie was right. Abby didn’t need to be told what to do. She simply did what was natural in the presence of her Mistress.

Valerie leaned down and cradled the side of Abby’s face, drawing her thumb along her bottom lip. Abby nuzzled against her hand, relishing her touch.

“That’s it.” Valerie spoke softly so that only Abby could hear. “Give in to your Mistress. Just let go.”

She drew her hand down to the collar and unclipped the leash from it, coiling it up and setting it aside on the table. From her knees, Abby could barely see the top of the table. But she could just make out some rope and a riding crop.

Anticipation throbbed inside her. It was no accident that Valerie had her with her back facing the audience. They’d have the perfect view of what was to come.

She watched from under her eyelashes as Valerie picked up a coil of rope from the table, unfurling it carefully. Was the audience transfixed by her, just like she was? Were they hypnotized by this siren in stilettos and lace, by the way her hands danced as she tamed the rope with sensual fingers?

Her performance? It wasn’t a performance at all. It was Madame V in her element. It was Valerie set free.

And in that moment, Abby wanted nothing more than to be hers .

Rope in hand, Valerie turned back to her. But she didn’t tie her up, not at first. Instead, she slipped a heeled foot between Abby’s knees in another wordless command.

Abby parted her legs obediently, shifting her weight to sit back on her heels. But Valerie slipped a finger into the ring at the front of her collar and drew her up onto her knees, exposing the backs of her thighs to the audience.

She circled Abby slowly, inspecting the pose from every angle. Satisfied, she took the rope and began binding each of Abby’s limbs. First, her wrists, which she tied to the metal frame above her a few feet apart, leaving her arms stretched up and out in a Y shape. Then, Abby’s legs, which she bound by tying a piece of rope just above each of her outspread knees and tying the free ends to the frame at either side of her body.

And when she was done, Abby was left spreadeagled on her knees, her legs held open by the ropes, her arms and body stretched almost to their limits. She couldn’t move. She couldn’t close her legs or shield herself in any way.

All she could do was kneel helplessly before the watching audience.

All she could do was give in to Madame V’s command.

Valerie reached down, tilting Abby’s face up to look at her. “Everyone out there is watching. Everyone out there is expecting a show. I need you to be a good girl and give them just that.”

Abby’s lips parted silently, a soft breath escaping them. The intensity, the desire in Valerie’s eyes, in her voice, sent tremors through her.

“Show them,” Valerie whispered. “Show them how devoted you are to me. Show them that you belong to me.”

“Yes, Madame V. I’m yours.”

Valerie grabbed the back of Abby’s neck and pressed her lips to Abby’s in a deep, possessive kiss. But only for a moment. Only long enough to make her ache.

She broke away and drew Abby’s hair over one shoulder, exposing her back, which was almost bare in her low-cut dress. Then, Valerie took the hem of Abby’s dress and pulled it up around her waist.

Heat rose to her skin. All she was wearing underneath was a tiny thong made of crimson lace. Like the dress, she’d bought it just for tonight. But she hadn’t expected that the whole club would see it, along with her bare ass cheeks.

Valerie ran her hands up the front of Abby’s chest and pulled the top of her dress down. Her breasts flushed, her nipples tightening.

“Oh? Nothing at all underneath?” Valerie skimmed a hand down the side of Abby’s breast. “If only I could turn you around to show these pretty pink nipples off to the audience.”

She brushed her fingertip over a pebbled nipple. Abby quivered, desire stirring in her core.

“But they’ll have to make do with the view from behind. Because now, we must show our adoring crowd exactly why you’re mine.”

Valerie straightened up and retrieved not one, but two floggers from the table. Dangling them from a finger, she returned to stand before Abby.

“Are you ready?” she asked.

“Yes, Madame V.” Every part of Abby’s being burned for her. For her touch, her kiss, the sweet sting of pain that would come at her hand. And for the thrill of all the eyes that would watch them.

“Then let’s show them,” her Mistress purred. “Let’s show them why I chose you .”

Valerie disappeared from view, heels clicking on the stage floor behind her. Abby tensed, the tails of a flogger trickling down her back, her bare ass, her thighs. But the strike she was waiting for never came. Only the brush of the flogger’s falls over every inch of her skin.

Her pulse sped up. Valerie was drawing things out, stringing her along. Was it for the audience’s benefit? For Abby’s? Or for Valerie’s own pleasure?

But it wasn’t her place to question her Mistress. Her sole purpose, her duty, was to submit to Madame V’s control.

She closed her eyes, breathing slow, steady breaths. She let the sweep of the flogger’s tails, the vibrations of music, the rapt silence of the audience all wash over her. She fell deeper into her trance, deeper under Madame V’s spell.

And when Valerie raised one of the floggers high in the air and brought it down on her ass cheek, it was with the lightest touch, light enough to do little more than tease her. But it was only the warm-up.

Valerie struck her again, on the other cheek this time, then the other, then the other, in a practiced rhythm that grew faster, harder with every impact. And soon, the gentle kisses of the floggers became sharp bites that made Abby’s skin sizzle.

She exhaled slowly, but didn’t make a sound. She didn’t moan, or whimper, or beg for more. She was Madame V’s devoted pet. Valerie had taken her, tamed her, and now, she owned her. Abby needed to prove that to each and every person watching.

So she knelt silently in place as Valerie drew stripes across her ass cheeks and the backs of her thighs. She bit down on the inside of her cheek, desire pulsing between her outspread legs. And when the floggers stopped falling, there was nothing left to distract her burning, aching need.

Valerie circled around her, caressing her cheek with her fingertips. “Are you still with me?”

“Yes,” she said softly. “Yes, Madame V.”

“Good. Because the whole audience is watching, reveling in the way I make you tremble and shiver, admiring the beautiful pink streaks I’m painting all over that pretty ass of yours. And I think they want to see more. Why don’t you take a look for yourself?”

For the first time since she’d walked on stage, Abby turned and peered out into the crowd. And she found the crowd staring back at her, an endless sea of women. Some stood by with drinks in their hands. Some were kissing and touching and groping. Some were doing far more.

But all of them were watching. All were entranced . They wanted her. They wanted to be her.

They wanted more.

“So,” Valerie said. “Do we give them what they want?”

“Yes,” Abby whispered. “ More. ”

Valerie’s lips curled up in a smile. She released Abby’s face. “Eyes forward for me.”

She looked straight ahead as Valerie set the floggers on the table, exchanging them for a long, thin riding crop. And with a twirl of the crop, Valerie disappeared behind her.

Abby braced herself. This time, Valerie didn’t start slow, bringing the riding crop down on her ass and the backs of her thighs, again and again and again. While the floggers were a dull smack that sent shockwaves across her skin, the crop was a sharp sting that rippled deep into her.

She bit back a moan. Her whole body crackled with electricity, every inch of her primed and sensitized. And nowhere more than between her thighs.

And when the riding crop fell upon her again, she couldn’t stop herself from crying out. At once, Valerie’s hand was on her ass cheek, soothing her tender skin.

“Had enough, my pet?” she asked.

Abby shook her head. “Please, keep going.”

“Just a little more.” Valerie kissed the back of her neck. “You’re doing so well.”

She reached for the table again, this time picking up a long, thin whip. She had saved the most intense for last.

Abby shut her eyes, bracing herself. As the whip hit her skin, she couldn’t hold back the moan building in her chest. The whip seemed to pierce right through her, penetrating down to her core. It was even more delicious than the riding crop.

Valerie struck her again, over and over and over. Abby shuddered and moaned. She couldn’t hold back any longer. As the storm of sensation consumed her, she let go, let herself fall into it.

She surrendered.

And then Valerie was before her, and her lips were on her in a searing, aching kiss.

Abby sank into her lips, straining against her bonds. Her knees were numb, and the ropes rubbed at the skin of her wrists. But the throbbing inside her, the unrelenting desire drowned out everything else.

Valerie murmured into the kiss. “I can tell how much you want me. I can tell how much you need me.”

She slipped her hand inside the waistband of Abby’s thong. Abby trembled, a desperate whimper spilling from her.

“You’re going to come for me, right here in front of everyone,” Valerie whispered. “And it’ll only take seconds. Because your body is mine. I command it. And if I want you to come, you’ll come.”

“Yes,” Abby said, breathless. “Yes, Madame V.”

As the crowd looked on, Valerie parted Abby’s lower lips with her finger, drawing it up and down her folds. Her fingertip skated over Abby’s clit, sending sparks through her body. Her head fell back, pleasure swirling and swelling inside her.

Until at last, she shattered, her cry echoing through the room as pleasure overtook her. The audience, the club, the world faded away. And as the waves of her orgasm propelled her deeper into nirvana, it was with Valerie’s name on her lips.

Valerie. Her goddess. Her Mistress.

Her everything.

And when she came down from her climax, her body slackening in her bonds, Valerie was there, holding her face with her hands.

“I’ve got you. I’ve got you.” Her warm breath caressed Abby’s cheek. “Let’s get you out of here. I want you all to myself for the rest of the night.”