Page 27 of Two For the Show (Trapped On The Tightrope Duet #2)

I hold my breath waiting for Alex’s reaction. This is a risky move, but I think it’s the right one.

She barely blinks as she stares at me, jaw a little slack.

“Punished?” she squeaks. “What do you mean?”

I slink around Matteo and press myself up against her back. “You feel bad about what you did, and even worse because Teo isn’t upset. It doesn’t feel fair to you that you could do something wrong and everything be okay. So you need to be punished for what you did.”

She chews on her lip and looks between the two of us skeptically. “I’ve been punished before-”

“That is not what I mean.” I interrupt. “Whatever they did to you, this isn’t that. That was to hurt you, to control you. This is to help you work out some of the guilt you feel safely.”

Matteo takes the towel from her and places his hands on her shoulders, guiding her to the couch where the three of us sit down together.

“They,” I can’t even bring myself to say their names, “took control from you. They stripped you of your autonomy, and you, rightfully, hate them for it. You want them to get what’s coming to them.”

“Of course I do!” She crosses one leg over the other, then switches them nervously. “Don’t you?”

“Hell fucking yeah. Hopefully I’m a part of it!

” Matteo murmurs his enthusiastic agreement alongside me.

“On some level, you don’t feel like you’re any better than they are.

That you took Matteo’s autonomy away from him, but if you’re punished for what you did, if we don’t let you get away with it, you’ll feel better.

We all have an innate sense of justice and need for control.

This can help you regain that. Make you feel like you’re on even footing with him again. ”

I can practically see the gears in her brain turning, her logical, analytical side taking control and processing what I’ve said.

I have no doubt she’s cross-referencing it with some of the studies she’s done or research she’s read on the science behind dominance and submission, sadism and masochism.

After a few minutes, she nods, as if finishing a conversation with herself.

“I think you may be right. I think I need you to punish me, Matteo.” I’m surprised at how steady her voice is, but I’m not sure why.

My girl is brave, logical, and brilliant. Of course she’d understand what I’m trying to do for her.

He groans, grabbing the crotch of his pants and throwing his head back. “Oh, Alex, you don’t know what you’re asking for.”

“That’s correct, she doesn’t,” I remind him.

“Which means it’s time for my favorite gameshow.

..” I hop up and spread my arms wide. “Name that boundary! A game in which three people sit down and have a mature and realistic discussion about their sexual preferences and how far they’re willing to go and what their hard and soft limits are. Brought to you by Cirque de Mordu.”

Alex laughs, my words having the intended effect of loosening her up for the serious conversation that lies ahead of us.

There is no cutting corners when it comes to playing around with kink. Everyone has to be fully aware of what they’re stepping into, and I’m not going to let Matteo throw Alex over his lap and spank her without discussion first. That’s not how we do things.

“Alright, usually, this is a conversation that will typically take a couple of hours if we go through everything. So right now, let’s just discuss what’s relevant for punishment, and we can dive into more later if you like this.

How does that sound?” She nods slowly, chewing her lower lip.

I crouch in front of her and loosely grab her chin.

“First rule, Alex. Verbal confirmation. Nonverbal cues can get dicey in situations like this, so we need words.”

Teo wraps his arm around her waist and tugs our Omega tightly to his side before kissing her on the hair. She smiles softly before looking back at me. “Okay. Let’s do this.”

“We’re going to focus on you and Matteo today. I won’t participate in the scene,” I tell her. When she tries to interrupt me, I hold up a finger. “And if you think I won’t enjoy every second of it, you’re mistaken.”

My Beta chuckles and dips his head to kiss along the column of her neck. “He’s a little bit of a voyeur.”

I raise my hands up in acquiescence. “Guilty as charged.”

My Omega rolls her eyes at me before turning to our Teo. “What’s a scene?”

“A scene is the time when we’re exploring the power dynamics, when the activities are happening. After the scene is what’s called aftercare, and that’s when I take care of you, help you come out of subspace, and remind you how important you are to me.”

“Subspace?”

“We’re getting ahead of ourselves,” I interrupt. “Let’s talk about your punishment. How do you feel about spanking?”

She blushes bright red and tucks some of her hair behind her ear. The shyness is adorable, but I hope she’s not uncomfortable.

“I’m curious, I guess.”

“Do you think it’ll trigger you?” Matteo asks gently. “Bring up any bad memories?”

Alex takes the time to really think about the question, which fills me with pride. She’s not going into this blindly, diving in and hoping for the best. I want her to enjoy this and have a good time, but she can’t do that if it brings up bad memories and ruins the moment.

“No, I don’t think it will. It’s not something we ever did, and knowing what is going to happen when we’re going into it with help.”

“Perfect,” Teo praises. “Pants on or off?”

Again, Alex’s face is bright pink, and she wiggles a little on the couch. Her rich chocolate scent makes the effect of that question on her impossible to miss.

“Off? Can my panties stay on?”

I join the two of them on the couch and pull her feet into my lap, letting her back rest on our Beta’s shoulders. “Absolutely. You’re in control here, Alex. We won’t push your boundaries.”

“Only your ass, or can I spank your thighs, too?”

I’m not one for being spanked. I like impact play as much as the next masochist, but spanking doesn’t do it for me. The image in my head of Matteo’s palm striking Alex’s perfect ass has me aching for them to begin.

“Uh, I guess both? I don’t really know.” She reaches out and grabs one of my hands, intertwining our fingers. “How will I know?”

“We can try it,” he tells her, dragging light fingertips down her arm.

“We’ll use the stoplight system. Red means stop right now; nothing can continue.

Yellow means back up a little, or slow down.

If you say yellow, I’ll lighten my spanks or give you more time between them, and check in with you more frequently.

But if you’re happy as a clam and enjoying where we are when I check in, say green. ”

“And either of you can use those safewords,” I interject. “Sometimes tops get their limits pushed too much and end up uncomfortable.”

“Correct. Please repeat the safe words back to me, Alex.” Matteo’s voice is growing sterner, and I can see him getting into character, so to speak.

“Red means stop right now, yellow means lighten up, green means I’m good,” she recites.

“Good girl,” he says, kissing her on the neck. “I’ll check in with you frequently. Sometimes, bottoms don’t feel like they can speak up. I’m going to make sure you do.”

He gives her a moment to sit in the discussion, running his hands up and down her biceps, trailing his fingers across her collarbone and neck.

When her body melts into his, he continues.

“Now, we’ll start with ten spanks as a baseline, okay?

But we can go up or down based on comfort.

Do you want to be over my knee or bent over the side of the couch? ”

Please say knee.

Please say knee.

Please say -

“Over your knee, please.” Her voice is nearly a whisper, but both of us hear it, and I nearly faint with how fast the blood rushes to my cock.

“And do you want sex to be a part of it?” There’s no presumption in Matteo’s tone, and I can see the surprise on Alex’s face before she turns and looks at him.

“It’s not always?”

“Nope. Can be. Doesn’t have to be. You can also change your mind at any time.”

After a moment of quiet contemplation, Alex smiles softly. “Can we play it by ear?”

“Sure thing, sweetie,” Matteo says soothingly.

“Back to subspace,” I interject. “You may find that during the act, you feel a little floaty, like you’re no longer in your body.

It may feel like you’ve melted into a puddle.

It’s normal.” She raises her eyebrows, and I motion dismissively with my hand.

“Something something adrenaline rush. I don’t know the full reasoning behind it, but basically, you may feel like mush, and that’s normal.

We’ll make sure to bring you out of the scene, but sometimes you can experience a drop or a low after a scene as you come down from the high.

But we’ll be here to help you through it, and hopefully minimize it. ”

She looks nervous now, but I don’t regret telling her about it. She needs to be fully aware of the potential consequences of this kind of play.

God, I’m glad I didn’t smoke or have an edible. I get to be fully present for this.

“After a rush of adrenaline, there can be a drop with mood changes,” she says thoughtfully. “Okay, so this kind of play triggers my fight or flight, and then has the same come-down period? That makes sense.”

I don’t know if I’ll ever get over the shock that Alex is my Omega. Gorgeous and brilliant. How fucking lucky am I ?

“I think that’s all we need to go over for right now,” Matteo says kindly. “I don’t like to use names during scenes, only titles. Are you comfortable with me only calling you Omega and only calling me Beta?”

“I am.” Alex’s scent is thick in the air now, and Matteo’s is surprisingly strong, too. Consent is sexy, and planning a scene out like this doesn’t take any of the fun out of it. It only gets your blood pumping even more in anticipation.

I carefully guide her feet to the floor, and Matteo finds one of her hands while I take the other. As I stand, I bring her with me, before I cross the room and get comfortable on one of the dining chairs.

“Well then, Omega,” Matteo says, his voice dark and thick in a way that sends a shiver down my spine. “Strip.”