Page 23 of Whatever Lola Wants (Odyssey #2)

L ola found the second floor space with no trouble, thankfully empty, and it was easy to see why it had been dubbed the wrestling room.

The entire floor, except for a two-foot square section just inside the door, was covered with tumbling mats, as were the walls, all the way to the ceiling.

Thick and bouncy, they provided ample padding for wrestling—or other contact sports.

The possibilities were delightful.

Aware that Simon was on his way, she bent to remove her spiked heels before stepping onto the mats.

Shoes in hand, she moved away from the door to disrobe.

The zipper on the side of her dress ran from bodice to hem, saving her the indignity of having to wriggle out of the form fitting latex; one quick glide of metal teeth and it fell open to drop away from her body.

She scooped it up, then took off her necklace.

She carefully folded it into the dress before setting it aside.

She shimmied out of the tiny thong and shivered as cool air washed over the damp, heated flesh of her bare pussy.

She didn’t know what Simon had in mind, but whatever it was, she hoped it included fucking her.

She took a step, her feet sinking into the cushy padding, then bent her knees and bounced.

She looked up when the door opened, still bouncing in place, and Simon stopped inside, that predator gaze finding her immediately.

He laughed and shut the door behind him. “ I thought you’d like this room.”

“Bouncy,” she replied and bounced again.

He set his bag down on the square of bare floor just inside the door and crouched to unzip it. “ Don’t worry, you’ll be doing plenty of bouncing. Come on over here.”

She walked towards him, putting just enough spring in her step to enjoy the give under her feet. He chuckled and pointed to the edge of the mat. “ Kneel .”

Her brows shot up, but she went gracefully to her knees.

They weren’t in scene yet, and normally she wouldn’t put herself in such a submissive pose at the beginning of play.

But he said he’d read her forms, and they’d talked before about how she liked to play.

So she’d give it a minute to see where he was going with this.

His eyes warmed with approval. “ Thank you. I know kneeling isn’t something you normally do. But I wanted to talk for a minute before we get started, and I wanted to see how you’d feel in a traditionally submissive posture.”

“I don’t feel submissive, if that’s what you’re asking,” she replied.

He nodded. “ Do you feel uncomfortable, physically or mentally?”

“No.”

His eyes flicked from her eyes to her mouth, examined the set of her shoulders, the relaxed splay of her hands on her thighs, and she knew her body language was telling him the same.

“Good.” He shifted slightly to face her squarely, his crouched position putting them almost at eye level. “ On your forms, you indicated that moderate pain is something you enjoy. What about more intense pain?”

She frowned slightly as she considered, wanting to give as truthful an answer as possible. “ It depends on the type, and when it happens. At the beginning of a scene, before the endorphins start flowing, no.”

He nodded. “ But once you’re warmed up?”

“Then it’s usually okay.”

“Good to know. What about sub space?”

“What about it?”

“What gets you there?”

She frowned. “ I’m not sure I’ve ever been there.”

“Interesting.” He was watching her closely. “ You said it depends on the type of severe pain. Which do you like less, stingy or thuddy?”

Sneaky fucker. She had no choice but to be truthful, and he knew it. Anxiety was starting to simmer, tensing her muscles and speeding her breathing. “ Stingy .”

His eyes laughed at her even as he gave an approving smile. “ Okay . A couple of minor bits of business. I like being called Sir in scene; will you have a problem with that?”

She’d already called him sir once before, hadn’t she? “ No , Sir .”

“What’s your safeword?”

“Red. Sir ,” she added at his slight frown.

He nodded. “ Use yellow to hit the pause button, all right?”

“Yes, Sir .”

“Good.” He reached in his open bag and came up with a leather pouch the size of a medium-sized purse. It had straps at the top and the bottom, and as she watched, he stood and buckled it into place over his thigh.

“Thigh purse?” she asked, intrigued.

He grinned. “ Cool , huh? Better than a fanny pack.”

“Way better,” she agreed.

“I thought I might keep what’s in here a surprise,” he said, giving it an affectionate pat. “ But I’ll show you if you want to know.”

She licked her lips, anticipation and trepidation making her heart race. “ Yes , Sir . I want to know.”

There was a metallic click of magnets releasing as he lifted the covering flap, and she leaned forward to peer inside.

Her mind blanked for a moment, then her jaw dropped. The bag was filled with dozens of tiny, colorful…

She looked up. “ Clothespins ?”

Amusement and heat shone in his eyes. “ Clothespins . Here are the rules of the game: I try to capture, you try to evade capture. Every time I catch you, I get to put one on. Every time you evade me for thirty seconds, you get to take one off.”

Her heartbeat picked up as excitement curled in her belly. He really seemed to get her. “ For how long?”

“Until you’re too tired to continue. Or until I use all the clothespins.”

Her eyes darted back to the pouch. “ How many are in there?”

“A hundred.”

Holy jumpin’ Jesus . “ Then what?”

He grinned. “ Then I get to enjoy my prize.”

Her lips wanted to twitch—he’d said the same after their wrestling match at her house. But the marvelous mix of excitement and anxiety brewing inside had all her attention now.

“You listed hard limits on your paperwork, but what are the ones that might apply here?”

She had to give her head a shake to clear it. Hard limits. Right . “ No permanent marks, no hitting my face. No degradation, no breath play.” She frowned, trying to think. “ This is why you’re supposed to negotiate before you’re turned on, dork.”

He burst out laughing, and she realized she’d spoken out loud. “ Oops . Um . I meant me, Sir .”

He was still laughing. “ Don’t worry. If I thought you were calling me a dork, I’d still be laughing. I’d just be paddling your ass while I did.”

There was that unexpected sense of humor again. “ Noted , Sir .”

“Do you have any questions before we get started?”

She rolled her shoulders. “ No , Sir .”

He watched the subtle flexing of muscles.

“ Getting loosened up already, hmmm? Oh , one more thing I forgot.” He reached into his toy bag and came up with a set of leather wrist cuffs.

He buckled them securely around her wrists, then with a smirk, tugged her arms behind her back and deftly clipped them together.

Her mouth dropped open in shock. “ What the hell?”

His eyes gleamed with amusement. “ Having been on the receiving end of your…skills, I figured it would be smart to take your hands out of the equation.”

“Stacking the deck in your favor, Sir ?” she accused.

“Absolutely.” He grinned. “ But since your only task is to get away, you don’t need your hands.”

Lola swallowed the sharp retort. He knew damn well taking her hands away affected her balance, her mobility, and her ability to defend. The big jerk.

He twisted back to his bag and dug out a digital watch and strapped it to his wrist. “ Since no cell phones are allowed in the club, I’ll use this as a stopwatch.”

He zipped the toy bag closed and nudged it against the wall before standing to toe off his boots. He eyed her as he stripped off his socks, leaving his feet bare. “ Need a hand up, little girl?”

Little girl? She stifled the snort and pushed to her feet, engaging her core and her leg muscles to rise as smoothly as she would have with the use of her hands.

“You’re in good shape.” His grin could only be described as wolfish. “ How’s your stamina?”

Better than yours, she wanted to say, but she wasn’t that foolish. “ Excellent .”

“I bet it is.” He jerked his chin. “ Go to the center of the room and kneel.”

She did as he asked, the cushion giving beneath her weight.

As useful as the padding would be at preventing injury, it would also make it more difficult for her to move quickly, especially without the use of her hands.

The part of her brain that thought like a top admired the way he’d set up the scene.

The rest of her—the part that was about to get nibbled to death by tiny clothespins—was feeling less appreciative.

He backed up until he was standing with his back against the wall. “ One more rule I need to mention before we start.”

Another ‘one more rule’? She schooled her features to polite indifference. “ Sir ?”

“If any of the clothespins I place get knocked off during your attempts to evade or escape, I get to put two in its place. Agreed ?”

Oh, she was dead meat. He was waiting patiently for her acquiescence, so she nodded. “ Good enough.” He raised his wrist and pressed a button on the side of the digital watch. “ Begin .”

She pushed up off her knees immediately and leapt to the left when he rushed her. His fingertips brushed her skin as he went past, nearly curling around her elbow before she ducked down and darted forward.

He spun into a low crouch. “ Nice moves.”

She didn’t have time to respond before he leapt at her again.

Fast and low, she noted and darted to the side, again barely evading his reaching hands. He liked fast and low. She barely suppressed a squeal when he leapt again, this time feinting, then launching himself in the direction of her dodge.

Her breath left her lungs with a whoosh when she landed on her back with him on top. Her arms pinned behind her, her attempt to roll clear was ruthlessly quashed. His grin flashed above her. “ Uh -uh, sweetheart. My win.”