 | ShatterStorm Productions
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| ShatterStorm Productions
|
Book 4: Rapids.
Series: Light, Water, Muses. An alternate universe for a variety of television series. See disclaimers below.
Rating: R, for kinky conversation.
Category: The continuing saga of Reflections/ Resurgences/Refractions.
Pairings: Dace and Jo. Kerry and Zo.
Disclaimer: "ER", see Chapter 1.
Disclaimer: "The Division", see Chapter 1.
Disclaimer: "The X-Files", see Chapter 1.
Disclaimer: "Xena Warrior Princess", see Chapter 4.
Disclaimer: "China Beach", see Chapter 5.
Disclaimer: "Facts of Life", see Chapter 6.
Disclaimer: "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit", see Chapter 7.
Spoilers: Refractions?
Summary: Hormones get the best of Dace and Jo, but food interrupts and they startle the hell out of Kerry, who helps unravel the first of the case's clues. Later, Dace and Jo discuss kinks.
++ Dace ++
Sleep was good. Pure, uninterrupted, relaxed sleep. The longer I was a cop, the more poorly I slept. But even I couldn't be so paranoid as imagining our perp possibly misunderstanding the exchange that had led to us being here at Zo's place. Even if he had been in the club in the first place. The farther-flung heavy clubs were on the menu for tonight and I hoped my team was up to it. As if responding to the thought, the warm body half tucked beneath me stirred and I lazily cuddled in closer. Half asleep, I buried my nose further into the dark hair and breathed in Jo's warm scent. Had we fallen into bed together? Then again, there was only one bed...
Jo moaned... and I froze.
It was a soft, welcoming moan that set my hormones on fire. She stirred against me, pressed into me at hip, knee, chest and shoulder... A sinuous twist left her neck exposed against my lips and I fought the temptation of her skin. As I breathed heavily, in and out, those tiny hairs at the back of her neck brushed my sensitive lips. Maddening. Utterly maddening. An eternity passed while my lizard brain argued with my upper brain over rules and wants. And slowly, utterly slowly, my head lowered to press mouth and nose to her skin in fractional measurements. Lips parted to breathe across her, to take in her scent... and taste. I honestly hadn't expected to let my tongue flick out to savor her. This had to stop.
Another moan, this one with a distinctively sexual note to it. Slender hips arched back into me, the fingers curled around my knee tightening. Woo boy...
When I froze self-consciously, Jo settled, her breathing smoothing out. And for a long minute, I almost believed that she had fallen back to sleep.
Tease.
So I leaned away from her enticing warmth and swatted her across the ass. Hard. It earned the squeal I was hoping for and I rolled away from flailing fists and elbows, laughing at her red-faced glare.
"You," she growled, and if I she hadn't been trying so hard not to grin, she probably would have been menacing. Instead, I laughed harder, enjoying the humor clearing out my system. I was a little surprised to feel her jump on me, grabbing my wrists and straddling me with her weight. "Are a pain in my ass."
"Oh?" I taunted back, wondering how strong she was. "And what are you going to do about it?"
Jo leaned into my wrists, and I abruptly noticed the position we were in. My hormones spiked painfully again. The same awareness flared in her gaze and I used her distraction against her. Not that is was easy to try and wrestle her into submission, giggling and growling. The woman fought like the junkyard dog she was nicknamed after. But subduing her was half the fun... and I wasn't gonna take the chance that I was allowed to get the other half of the fun. I could only pretend she was mine for the taking.
We ended up face-to-face, Jo's body pinned beneath mine, her chest heaving with exertion. And suddenly, it wasn't a game any longer. I knew I wanted her, and I swear I saw the same damn thing in her pale eyes. "We... we should get up," I breathed lamely, desperate for a distraction from the heat between us.
"Yeah," Jo whispered back, but remained unmoving underneath me. "Or..."
"Or?"
There was too much fear in her gaze, too much... too much, what? How badly did I want to know? Smell, taste, touch... this game we been forced to play to guard other's lives. I wanted her... wanted her to be mine at least for now. "Please... I want you so bad..." Jo whimpered and I gave in with a growl. Our mouths crashed together, her taste hot and musky behind her teeth. Jo's lips and tongue were wild and needy, her moans sounding deep in her chest. Strong tendons flexed in her wrists where I pinned them so tight. I let her go, because I wanted to get to know all of her, not only these rough, extreme roles. So I gentled, concentrating on her responses.
The minute her hands were free, I felt them twine into my short hair to keep me close. Her body arched against me, her groans becoming low and wanton. Lost in her, I was barely aware of where I stopped and she began. She felt so damn good...
++ Jo ++
I had been a wild child for a long time. Eastland School for Girls might have knocked off the roughest edges, but I had rebelled over being controlled since I was a small kid. Even if I did have a thing for authority figures... Troublemaker on the mean streets of the Bronx, troublemaker in the stuffy upstate school I'd won admittance to with brains and hard work alone, troublemaker on the thin blue line. That was always my problem, I was too smart for my own good, too wily, too aggressive, too... I was too much of a lot of things. I rebelled against authority because it drove me nuts, the dichotomy of how it made me feel. Part of me wanted to rebel ferociously and part of me wanted to get on my knees and beg for the domination. That was why meeting Michael that had made such a difference to me. Oh, I knew Liv didn't really get it, bless her heart, but handing control over to someone I trusted kept that needy part of me sane. There was no way in hell I could do it all the time, but it was a great way to recharge and regroup from my stressful life and taboo desires.
But this was one of the things that I had always been bad at. Pinned beneath another, bodies intertwined, someone else's taste in my mouth. But this time... this time something felt different. There was something ferociously compelling about Dace, and I was far from the only one that noticed. And, lucky me, I was in a position to be all hers.
If only she'd take me.
I think she liked me. I was pretty sure she liked me... And now, she was attracted to me, too. That heady combination had me willing and pliable in her hands. There would be no taking advantage of this woman, no manipulation or deviousness. She wouldn't tolerate it. And, as our desperation shifted into a more relaxed, exploratory embrace, I realized that I really did want this.
I wanted it too much. And at some point I would have to return to Michael and explain that I had given my body and heart to another.
"Dace," I gasped hoarsely and she came up for air. She continued to nuzzle me and I desperately tried to hang on to my sanity. "Dace," I tried again and felt her smile, the blue eyes dancing oh-so-close to mine.
"I take it by this that you're interested in more than just work?" She chuckled and I had to laugh shyly.
"Yes ma'am," I whispered back and used my hands on her head to pull her into a hug. Dace sighed heavily, resting all of her weight on me. She had a much smaller build under the bulky butch clothes than I would have guessed. She was so tall, and her personality so big, that I would have expected a body like a wrestler or body builder. I opened my mouth to say more but was abruptly interrupted by something landing heavily on the skylight and we damn near jumped clean out of our skins. Cursing, Dace rolled away and we both stared up at the ceiling. Something winged was flapping against the opaque plexiglass, squawking loudly. A voice shouted outside and the creature screeched back. There were six little toes silhouetted on the material as the bird moved about.
"Good morning," Dace murmured irritably as we watched the antics above. "That thing is lucky I don't have my gun." I couldn't help but laugh at her grumbling. When she rolled her head to the side and smiled, I was captivated by the warm expression. "We have to talk about boundaries before tonight. I want to have you more than just the one watching my back, but I need to know what you need. And I need to be able to send you home to your Mistress intact, and still well-trained. Preferably, even better trained than before. I've done it before, and I can do it again. Call it professional courtesy. Deal?"
"Deal."
Right on cue, there was a knock. "Sorry about Behbis," Zo called through the door, sounding amused and guilty at the same time. The bird shrieked again in response to its name. Dace propped herself on her elbows, still holding my gaze captive.
"That's okay," she called out. "We're up. Be out in a minute."
"Cool. French toast okay?"
My stomach growled loudly. Seems there was something I needed more than this woman's attentions. She smiled softly and kissed my nose. "Yeah, sounds good."
"'Kay."
++ Dace ++
Now I was getting excited by this new partnership. I was gratified by Jo's loyalty to her Mistress, even as I was secretly jealous. True loyalty couldn't be bought. Still, the idea of combining work and pleasure had me wet and eager. This was going to be a shit-load of fun.
"Food?" Jo ventured in a timid tone and I chuckled. Abruptly pulling away from her seductive warmth, I bounced to my feet and stretched before offering her a helping hand.
"Food. C'mon."
And we walked out together.
In the darkness the night before, I hadn't gotten a good look at the place. The hallway dumped into a huge room with a wall of windows bigger than some buildings. "Wow," I couldn't help but breathe in awe. Hardwood floors, plants, and a fountain the size of a car made the place amazing. "So if Zo will let us stay, I'm definitely all over that."
"Definitely," Jo laughed.
There was semi-loud dance music wafting out of an oversized doorway nearby that caught our attention. So, we followed the notes and found ourselves in the kitchen, where we were greeted by quite a surprise. There was a strange woman wrapped intimately around Zo, obviously quite familiar with our hostess. Their moans had been lost to the music, but we could hear them now! And the French toast smelled like it was burning...
With some incoherent curse, Zo wrenched herself away from the very involved kiss to cast her eyes to the smoking pan. "Ker, hang on."
Before the red-head could reply, she noticed us hovering and actually yelped in surprise. Immediately, I raised placating hands and Jo shrank back behind me. Unnecessarily scaring civilians was frowned upon. And damned if I didn't recognize her from more of the pictures that Karen had emailed me over time. Jeez, what was this, reunion week?
"It's okay, we're harmless," I soothed and Zo finally took notice of what was happening. Though I could sure as hell sympathize with the carnal glaze in her eyes.
"Aw shit, Kerry, hon, I'm sorry, we've got guests."
"I see that," she growled archly and I couldn't help but smile. This was obviously the doctor girlfriend. "I leave on business and you suddenly have strange women over?" There was something dangerous and perversely amused in the woman's voice. I decided right then and there that I liked her already. Even if the cat seemed to be agitated over her. Weird.
"No!" Zo objected vehemently and, scowling briefly at the ruined food, grabbed Kerry's hand and dragged her over to us. The small woman moved slightly awkwardly on a single crutch, but I had a feeling that it would be supremely stupid to underestimate her. "You two sleep okay? Except for the bird, of course, sorry 'bout that. This is Kerry Weaver, I know I mentioned her last night, Ker, these two are..." Zo's voice trailed off with a confused expression before bursting out into laughter. "What the hell are your real names?"
Jo and I chuckled along. I already knew that this was someone who we could trust, so I offered up the truth. "Dace DeLorenzo and this is my partner, Jo... how the hell do you say your last name again?"
"Polniaczek," she sighed melodramatically, obviously used to the question. I gave her a quick swat into the kitchen and stepped in behind her, offering a friendly hand to the fierce little red-head.
"Sorry to startle you, but we ran into Zo last night. Our sisters are close friends."
Kerry Weaver kept that skeptical gaze on me for a long moment before comprehension dawned. "You're in pictures with Karen."
"Yes ma'am," I confirmed happily. Having family around me would ease the stress of what was going on. I decided I liked the perverse humor I saw dancing in Kerry's sandy-green gaze. Then she glowered at Zo, who wisely flinched.
"We need to work on this whole communication issue."
"But," Zo spluttered and I grinned earnestly. Thank God they seemed like a nice, normal couple. "I wasn't expecting you until tomorrow."
Then Kerry finally smiled and gave Zo a quick kiss, "I know, Sweetie, I'm just teasing you." The sharp gaze swung back to us, but the warm smile never faded. "I can never get over how this one attracts coincidence."
Zo shrugged sheepishly. "It's a gift."
++ Jo ++
By the time breakfast was over, I felt like I'd known these women all my life. Gregarious, sarcastic and smart, Kerry was in charge of the local emergency room. Zo was a painter by trade and the dancing was merely recreation and play money. While the conversation flowed around us, Zo watched Dace closely. Not so much looking at her, but through her, as though she could see things the rest of us couldn't. It freaked out my inner cop, yet I sensed no threat from the energetic young woman.
Finally, Zo couldn't tolerate sitting still and burst into a flurry of activity to clean up the debris from breakfast.
"Oh, Zo honey, Sandy said to say hi, and she's gonna kill you next poker game."
Something changed in Dace's body language, wariness mixing with incredulity. Zo sighed, "I hope she gets better soon."
"Waitaminute," Dace spluttered, completely without dignity. "You're Chief of the ER in the hospital that Sandy's in?"
In a heartbeat, the atmosphere turned icy with tension and I floundered. What the hell was going on?
"You know Sandy?" Kerry queried crisply.
"Yeah," Dace said mournfully. "She's why I'm here."
Then it clicked. They were talking about Jinny's partner's sister, the one that had been attacked while trying to save her buddy from a serial killer. "What are the odds?" I muttered in disbelief.
"Sorry," Zo interjected, sounding anything but sorry. "That's my fault. Seriously, this kind of weird shit happens constantly around me. Let me make a wild guess here. You're both cops, looking for the guy that attacked her and Silver." I was a bit taken aback that Dace nodded mutely, not even trying to disguise the truth. Zo's gaze focused inward for a moment as she contemplated the enigma of the two us in her kitchen. "Sandy has a sister in San Francisco..." her striking aquamarine eyes snapped up in surprise. "A cop sister."
"I work with her. Magda Ramirez. She couldn't come herself, since family is involved, so I volunteered."
Poor Dace sounded bewildered. Zo focused on me as she came back to the table, resting a hand on Kerry's shoulder. "And you, Jo?"
Ah well, everyone else was being honest... "Magda's partner in San Francisco is my cousin Jinny Exstead. We're dead ringers for each other. She asked me to back Dace here up."
"Wow," Kerry marveled with a shake of her head. "This is almost as good as me and Janet." I didn't get it, but Zo laughed. Kerry looked at the two of us, melancholy humor in her expression. "Long story. I was adopted by missionaries in Africa as a baby, and met this bundle of energy purely by accident about a year and half ago delivering a package of all things. So she convinces me over time that I can't live without her." They shared a soft smile and my heart smiled along. "Only to find out earlier this year that her older sister is married to my biological cousin that I've, of course, never met."
"Wild," Dace murmured. "And that same sister works with my best friend, who's like a sister to me."
"Yep," Zo chuckled and we all laughed.
There was a lull in the startling conversation as Zo shooed us off to relax in the main room while she brought out coffee. Kerry led the way to a group of overstuffed furniture and a mountain of pillows near the enormous fountain. I was taken aback by the crutch she limped on and reminded myself to never assume anything.
"Have you heard anything that might be useful to us at your hospital?" Dace asked quietly once we had settled in. "I'd appreciate all the help I can get."
"Not outside of what Sandy's talked about. Zo knows more about that than I would, she understands it better than I do. Though Mount Sinai is north of us," Kerry mused thoughtfully. "I can check in with them. There's always personnel shifting going on between the hospitals around here. Let me check on something real quick." Raising her voice, she called out, "Zo, can you bring me the phone please?"
"Sure," the younger woman called back, coming out of the kitchen with a tray. We were treated with really good, dark coffee while Kerry made a call.
"Marty? Is that you? How have you been? Yeah, life's been good; I finally have assistance at County. Actually, three of my Attendings split it up. Very. Yes, dammit, the rumors are true; why does everyone in Chicago care about my love life? Marty, you're sick. Ha-ha, very funny. Is Wells around? Damn. Ah well, can you give him a message to call me?" After rattling off a phone number, Kerry bantered for another minute and hung up. "If any victims were taken in for medical attention at Sinai, Wells will probably know about it. This should be memorable enough to rattle a memory loose if it's there."
We chuckled in sympathetic morbid humor while Zo just shook her head.
Then something wrapped itself around my leg with sharp claws and needle-sharp teeth and I nearly upset the coffee table trying to leap clean out of my skin.
++ Kerry ++
"Mangas! Stamata toh!" (Mangas! Stop it!) Zo shouted and there was that familiar, strange, wheezing cry as Jo nearly upset the table trying to climb over both Dace and the couch. Scrambling with admirable reflexes, Zo dove for the floor to come up with Mangas. Poor Dace was torn between alarm and confusion; hands still half defensive and half helping Jo.
I couldn't help it, and laughed and laughed.
Something dark and vaguely threatening muttered up from Jo, and I only laughed harder. It was probably mean, but the looks on their faces...
"That damn thing scared me," the dark cop whined in a peevish tone as she gingerly settled to the couch again, rubbing her ankle. I took note of the sudden Bronx accent coloring her speech. Interesting. She hid it damn well.
"Sorry Jo," Zo soothed and fired me an exasperated glance I merely chortled at. Fierce little Mangas glowered balefully at the strangers in her domain, which was unaccountably hilarious to me. "This is Mangas. She gets a little enthusiastic sometimes. The bird is Behbis." From somewhere in the cavernous apartment, the big baby set up his customary racket. It had taken months to get used to the noise, but I hardly noticed him anymore. "You get used to them."
The sheepish tone mollified Jo somewhat, but she looked annoyed at Dace's growing amusement. "Scared of a little rodent?" The tall woman teased lightly and Jo scowled half-heartedly. "And here I thought you were a tough New York cop."
"It just startled me, that's all."
We chuckled together, trying not to do it too much at Jo's expense. Zo murmured more apologies and went to return the ferret to her sprawling cage by the fountain. My humor spent, I studied our guests while they interacted and ignored me for the moment. They were a damn intriguing pair, with both familiarity and cluelessness between them. "You two aren't regular partners," I commented calmly and both pairs of blue eyes settled on me.
"Hardly," Dace finally ventured. "Just for this assignment, why?"
"Chemistry," I replied enigmatically and went to clean up. Oh, one or both of them were probably scowling at me, but they'd get over it. Their sexual energy was probably a good thing on this case; it would give them a believability that was impossible to fake. I just hoped, for their sake, they it wouldn't get them in trouble with the other cops. "If you need anything, go to my hospital and tell them you know me and Zo. Stay here for more than a few days and you'll know half the staff anyway. They hang out here enough."
Zo chuckled from where she was feeding apple chucks to Behbis around the corner that was the big bedroom. "A bunch of the city's finest doctors, nurses, firefighters, random civil servants and family, come here to play poker on Thursdays. Stay out late if you don't want to meet any of them and have to field questions. We're usually done by around three or so."
"In the morning?" Dace asked, surprised.
"Oh yeah," Zo answered as she stepped out with the big blue and red macaw on her arm. "Three is the usually the earliest we break up."
"C'mon," I teased. "You two should understand oddball hours as well as we do."
We all laughed together like old friends.
++ Darya Farazell ++
It was hard to say what made me pick up the phone, but it barely had a chance to make a stifled squawk. "Hello?"
"Jeez, Dare, did the thing even ring?"
"Dace," I grinned with pleasure. It was odd what an impact the woman had on our lives, as just a voice and pictures. "I just had a feeling."
She chuckled warmly, but I sensed tension in her tone. "A feeling, huh? Reminds me of my new buddy here. Is Karen around? I'd actually like to talk to you both."
"I swear," came Karen's voice, grumbling from the hallway. "I'm gonna adopt that damn Goldston girl, if it would actually get Emily to sleep."
Torn between amusement at the grousing and half-guilty sympathy at Emily's unrelenting dislike of naps, I chuckled. "Karen, honey, it's Dace on the phone." Disheveled and half-asleep from an extended bout of putting Emily down, Karen stepped into the sprawling living room. "Dace? Let me put you on the speaker phone so that we can both talk to you."
"'Kay."
"Hey punk," Karen sassed as she grabbed the apple juice and a cup from the adjoining kitchen. "What's up?"
There was an uncomfortable pause and my feeling that something was wrong peaked. "I'm kinda caught up in something and I think I might need your help," was all the warning Dace gave us and unloaded like a dump truck. For the most part, we listened quietly, trading meaningful glances as the tale unfolded from the speaker. From Sandy's attack, to Sylvia, to coming to Chicago, to her new partner, to unexpectedly meeting Zo. It was hard to believe what was going on, but Dace was not the kind of person to be prone to exaggeration.
"Jeez, Dace," Karen rumbled in her most tender tone, usually reserved for myself and the children. "How are you holding up?"
"Okay, I guess. I hate being alone though. Gramps should have contacted the Lady by now, but I don't know if she'll contact you." Karen's worried gaze fell to my swelling belly as Dace added, "with the baby coming and all."
I saw there, plain as the bright green of my dearest love's spectacular eyes. Dace needed her. There was a long moment of debate, for I hated to give Karen up, but this woman was her family just as much as I or Emily or Anastasia. I nodded, soundlessly agreeing with the plea in Karen's gaze. "I can be there by sometime late tomorrow or Thursday, but not tonight. Me and Emily have plans tomorrow and I can't bail on her."
"Oh shit, I didn't even realize..."
"It's okay. I'll contact Anastasia, and then get packed. Me and the Monkey can do our thing and I can head for Vegas. You just keep yourself calm and safe, okay?"
"Okay," Dace said quietly, sounding for all the world like a scared kid. My heart went out to her.
"Unca Dace?" Came an unexpected voice and we both looked over to see Emily rubbing her eyes sleepily. "Unca Dace?"
"Hey Monkey," Dace's voice purred through the phone like a big, verbal hug and Emily plodded over, yawning.
"You need Kryn?"
"Umm... yeah... but you have plans..."
"No. You and Gramma 'Stasia need her. Unca Art will take me to the dragon party," Emily said soberly, sounding centuries older than her four years. Something shadowy lurked in her bright blue eyes as she glanced at me and then up to a baffled Karen. "She needs you, you'll see."
"Hey Emily?"
"Yes, Unca Dace?"
"I've been making an awful lot of excuses to not visit all of you in Colorado, and I'm really sorry. When all of this is over, how about I come by and spend some time with you?"
And, in an instant, Emily was once again a happily squealing little girl, picking up the phone so that the speaker was cut off. She babbled about zoos and ponies and the twins and 'her' babies growing, while I could almost hear Dace's kind interest. Karen came over to sit beside me, one hand rubbing my belly, the other the nape of my neck. "I don't get it. She's been obsessed with me staying close after I was gone for so long, and now she's practically throwing me out?"
"Karen, love," I soothed wounded feelings. "There's some bond between Emily and your sister that I don't understand, but is there nonetheless. Go help her; we'll keep the home fires burning."
++ Dace ++
After happily listening to Emily ramble on and on about her life, Karen took the phone over and confirmed things with me. Guilt wracked me for dragging Karen into this and away from her family, but I knew that she needed to know what was going on, because it involved the Lady. I hung up the phone and threw an arm over my eyes. I'd been sprawled out in the big bed for the whole conversation.
How had little Emily seemed to understand my urgency? How did she know that I needed Karen's strong, predatory presence at my back? That Lady Heartsblood would need her as well? I didn't have the answers, but the cat grumbled some placid, protective emotion at me. She understood the cub just fine, and that was one of the things that puzzled the hell out of me.
The door clicked open and I peeked out from beneath my arm. Damned if Jo didn't look edible standing there all warm and damp in nothing but a towel. "Dace, ma'am? There's still hot water if you'd like to shower."
"C'mere," I ordered, and relaxed back into the exquisitely soft bed. Jo was every inch the shy bottom in response to my tone. I stared at the length of softly muscled leg she showed as she sat beside my hip. "You said that you played. Are you willing to do so with me?"
"Yes," she said quietly, but without hesitation. "Please ma'am."
"Good. Then we should have some ground rules. Lemme think... I used to have this long ass list of kinks memorized. So you can nod along or shake your head as I call them off, okay?"
"Okay."
"And let me know if I miss something. Let's see... ass play? Good, I can work with that. I don't do asphyxiation. Can you take a beating? Good, I hope you enjoy it too." That shy, eager look was a good one on her. I was never going to be able to look Jinny in the face ever again. "Blindfolds, biting, bondage? Much as a branding would look fine on your pretty skin, we'll hold off. Your Mistress would rightly have a conniption fit if I marked you permanently, and I hate pissing off other Tops. I happen to have a special fondness for these boots." Blue eyes dropped down my sprawled legs to the much-beloved footwear. "Keep that thought in mind. Cages? Okay, not that one, no problem. Caning? Okay, you seem ambivalent, fair enough. Chains, clothespins, maybe I should get you a set of cuffs to match that collar, yeah that'd be sweet." Poor Jo was getting worked up and I still had a lot to cover. "Bet you're competitive too. I pack and enjoying using the equipment wherever we think it might do the most good. There will be some slapping around, but I won't bruise your face or anywhere that will handicap. There's no place for that here. After all," I teased fondly, daring to run a hand along her tense thigh. "We have to work too. Still with me?"
"Yes," Jo whispered after noisily clearing her throat. "I haven't had this kind of conversation outside of my Mistress."
"You're doing fine. I'll try to hit the high points. Fisting? Oh? I'll remember that... Gags, harnesses, giving head, hoods, hot oil, wax, whatever. Knife play, lingerie, mouth bits, mummification, nipple play; clamps, whipping, that kind of thing. Temporary piercings?"
"Never tried it..."
"Hmmm. Okay then, we'll keep that one in reserve. You were wearing that latex shirt, so I'll add that to the 'yes' list. Spanking? That's always a good solid staple. I do a mean full-bodied strapping too. Suspension? Are you ticklish?" Trailing my teasing hand up her leg, I ducked under the towel and poked her in the ribs. Jo jumped a little, but not a strong reaction. "Uniforms? Yeah, me too. Voyeurism, whipping, paddles? I think I'm out of ideas."
"Riding crops," Jo added softly, burning with embarrassment and hormones. Generally, I thought the things were a cliché, but I certainly had no problem using one to turn her on. "And Pai was teaching me to dance." That certainly had my attention. "And a few times the pack of them did some prison and interrogation scenes that had me useless at work for days. That's why I'm a little weird about cages. It's a turn-on, but sometimes hits a little to close to home. Ice cubes?"
"Sure. Maybe I'll finally have Jane teach me that fancy Japanese macram? bondage." It was fun to see the burn of carnal interest in her crystal eyes. "Now come here and kiss me."
This assignment was shaping up to be a hell of a lot more fun than I had originally anticipated...
