“Just give it a chance, Gwen. It’ll work.” His hand ran up and down her arm and then gently closed his hand around hers. “And stop fidgeting. I’m going to have to do something about that.”
Oh, hell. The threat of punishment sent heat straight to her core. She imagined him yanking her arms behind her back hard, holding them there while he bent her over. Damn it.
His hand held hers in place until she relaxed. His mouth brushed her ear. “Good girl. Now come on. Let’s go find Nick.”
On the way down the hall, Gwen threw a look at him over her shoulder. How the hell could he say it so casually? He spoke as if Nick weren’t her boss, someone she’d see every day after this, and as if what she’d do with Archer while within these walls was as mundane as the winter weather.
“Trust me, Gwen. You’re nervous now, but it will get easier.”
Yeah, right. She shook her head at him, and he chuckled.
“You’ll understand when we talk to Nick. We’ll go over everything in detail before the scene.”
Nick looked up from his desk when he saw Archer and Gwen enter, and his face lit up.
“Archer, you’re back, eh? Finally.”
“Sort of.”
The muscles in Gwen’s shoulders visibly tightened and Archer put his hand on the small of her back. She relaxed a little, but he swore her face darkened with a blush, though it was hard to tell in the low lighting Nick preferred.
Nick glanced at her and stood up from his seat. “Ah, Gwen. I wondered when you might decide to cross over to the dark side.”
Gwen’s manicured, thin brows winged down. “What?”
The corners of Nick’s mouth turned up. He crossed his arms over his chest. “Doms like me see a sub a mile off, even if she doesn’t know what she is. I would have offered the club’s services, but I could tell you weren’t ready.”
“I’m not sure that “ready” is really the word that I’d use.” Her gaze flitted up to Archer and she twisted her hands.
Archer quirked a brow at her. The slight defensiveness in her tone made him want to challenge her resistance to the notion that she was a submissive. He set the duffle bag down, crossing his arms to keep from slapping those soft little hands apart.
She cleared her throat. “I’m not here to…um. We… we…”
Archer fought a chuckle. She really was adorable when she squirmed.
Nick looked at him. Questioning.
“We need to borrow a stage for a few hours, Nick. I want to do a karate exercise with her, and the club is a better learning environment than the dojo for what I have in mind.”
Curiosity lit Nick’s eyes, but he nodded. “That’s fine. You can use the middle stage, it should be free.”
“Perfect. But you need to know, this scene will be a little… unusual.”
“How so?”
“The objective here is not to make her submit to me.” When Gwen kicked idly at the leg of a chair in front of her, he set a hand on her shoulder. She cleared her throat, setting her feet together. “It’s to make Gwen become aggressive. I’m teaching her assertiveness.”
“Ah.” Light wrinkles creased Nick’s cheeks on a smile and he looked her over. “Yes. Our Gwen isn’t much for standing up for herself. The only time she takes a vacation is if I order her to.”
“I believe it.”
Gwen gave a barely audible sigh and annoyance flashed across her features before she lowered those stunning green eyes. Archer exchanged a look with Nick, whose eyes shone. He would have loved to play with her, getting Nick to talk about her like she wasn’t there. Push her until she snapped, until she fought him. But he’d save it for the scene. Then he would really see what she was made of.
“I realize this scene isn’t normally the sort of thing people would come here to see, so I’ll pay you for the stage time, Nick.” Archer drummed his fingers on the back of the chair Gwen had been kicking at.
“What is it you’re planning to do?”
“I’m going to do or say thing to Gwen to push her buttons until she learns to stop me.”
Gwen gave him an inquiring look, and Archer kept his face deadpan.
“I see,” Nick said. “So when it looks like you’re pushing too hard, I’m not to step in. Got it. Paying for the time isn’t necessary. I think this is an intriguing concept, enough to garner interest. I’ll make an announcement at the stage before the scene so anyone who doesn’t care to watch can move on.”
“You’re welcome to watch, Nick.”
Gwen shot a look at him, eyes wide, face flushing. Well, with that look, now he really wanted Nick to watch. The woman needed to learn some damn confidence, and it would serve her right to have to suffer through her boss watching her first scene.
But Nick shook his head. “I’d love to, but I’ve got to get to the hospital in a bit for a shift.” He turned and took a paper from the disarrayed desk. “Since this is your first time here, you need to fill this out, Gwen.”
When she looked questioningly at both men, Archer explained. “They’re limitations forms. They have a list of things a sub or Dom might do in any given scene, and you mark off the ones you are willing to do, and ones you aren’t.”
“Oh, right.” She took the form her boss held out to her. “I’ve had to file those for Nick before.”
“You and Archer will need to discuss his limits too.”
Gwen and Archer both nodded.
“The club safeword is red. You know what a safeword is, right Gwen? Anytime the scene becomes too much, or Archer does something and you need him to stop the scene, you say ‘red.’ Or you can choose your own safeword”
“I understand.”
“Good. If you need anything, don’t be afraid to ask,”
When both acknowledged his words, he nodded them toward the door and Archer picked up his duffle.
“Have fun, both of you. And Archer?” When Archer turned, he grinned. “Nice to have you back in the game. Gwen, you’re in good hands. Trust me.”
Archer shook his head. “I’m not back, Nick. Not really. This is just a one-time thing, for her training.”
“Right. Of course.” Nick’s eyes danced.
Irritation grappled at him, but he sighed. He’d argue with him later, when Gwen wasn’t there. “Later, Nick. Come on, Gwen, let’s go.”
When he set a hand on her back again, he swore he felt her tremble in response. Those soft cheeks turned pink. He studied her face. Was her reaction fear or attraction? Her cheeks went even pinker and she bit her lip. Definitely attraction. A thrill raced through him. Oh, this was going to be a fun night.
A million questions swirled in Gwen’s head as Archer led her up to the promenade that surrounded the main room of the club. What had happened to Archer that he stopped being a Dom? Was it the same thing that made him swear off beginners? Gwen wanted to ask, but couldn’t bring herself to do so.
Archer led her to a set of leather couches and ordered a cola for each of them before he set his bag down and sat in the corner of a couch.
“I thought we were using a stage?”