Page 7 of Trust in Me
The sub on the cross exploded in orgasm. Avery shivered, then took a deep breath in. She was coming back to the surroundings. She’d been completely captivated by the scene. It seemed like she’d been on the verge of her own climax when the woman had orgasmed. I placed a hand on the small of Avery’s back.
“How are you feeling, sweetheart?” I turned Avery to face me, tipping her face upward. Her pupils were dilated with arousal, but the nerves and trepidation were still there. Her lips parted, but she didn’t speak.
“I see. Come on, darlin’.”
I led her gently toward a quiet corner and guided her onto a comfy sofa. Avery sunk into the cushions. She still seemed lost in her thoughts as I grabbed a subbie blanket from a nearby pile and wrapped it around her.
I sat next to her, draping an arm over her shoulders. “This is what we do after a scene. It’s called aftercare. When you’re in a scene, all of your emotions and hormones are flying high. You need to come down gently or you’ll crash. I can tell that just watching that scene was intense for you. Can you tell me what you liked about that scene, Avery? How it made you feel?”
She bit her lower lip, chewing on it for a minute before she let it go and started talking. “It seemed so…intimate, somehow. Even though it was in front of all of us. They seemed so focused on one another, ignoring everyone else. Like they knew each other so well.”
I nodded. She was observant. Smart. “That’s a good observation. What else?”
“She must trust him a lot to let him tie her up. How does she know he won’t hit her too hard? What if it was more than she could take?”
There it was. “Those are good questions. Both of them—Sean and Paige—are experienced, but they actually haven’t played together before, at least not that I know of. You’re right, trust is key here.”
7
Avery
“That,Avery,iswhywe’re not going to do a scene tonight.” Brax tilted his head as he looked at me. “You don’t trust me yet. But the answer to all of those questions is exactly what we’re doing now. They talked, they negotiated the scene, they agreed on safe words. He knows how to read her and can tell when she’s getting close to her limit. She has plenty of ways to communicate her limits in a scene, too. She can trust him to listen to her safe words and her body language. He can trust her to safe word if it’s too much.”
I blinked, dumbfounded. We weren’t going to scene? Wasn’t that what we were here for? “But I—“
Brax held his hand up, stopping me mid-sentence. “No lying. You may want to trust me, but we’re not there yet. And that’s okay. You need time.”
I chewed on my lower lip again, considering. He might be right, but this was my one time. I couldn’t afford to come back, not any time soon. “But this is my one night here.”
Brax’s arm tightened on my shoulder the tiniest bit. “Let’s try this, darlin’. Can you trust me enough to know what you need tonight? If you can trust me on this, I’ll take care of a guest pass for another night. Or two, or three. Just for you. If you use them, you don’t have to play with me, or anyone else, for that matter. There are no strings attached. Okay?”
The morning sun peeked through the curtains. I stretched in my bed, my mind wandering over everything that had happened last night. My emotions had been all over the place. The adrenaline rush of walking into the club. The stomach flip when I’d been paired with Brax. How turned on I’d been while watching the scene.
And then the total letdown when he just put me in my car and sent me home.
Ugh. I’d let myself believe there was some kind of a connection there. When we’d cuddled on the couch, I’d felt safe, cared for, even with how nervous he made me. And maybe it was just nerves, but the jolt of electricity that had gone through me every time we touched was still fresh in my mind.
In the harsh morning light, everything seemed different, less magical. I’d gotten my courage up to go to the club. I could handle a scene. I knew I could. And he thought he could just…decide that I wasn’t ready?
Maybe I wasn’t his type, but he could have just said so.
At least I had those guest passes. Brax had tucked some cards into my purse last night, just before he’d walked me to my car and sent me on my way.
He’d been nice enough as he rejected me, not that it softened the blow any. He wrote his number on a card that he tucked into my bag along with the guest passes. I hadn’t gotten up the courage to look at them. I wasn’t ready to relive those feelings of rejection just yet.
I shook my head, trying to physically shake the thoughts of Brax and how last night ended out of my head. I had a few hours before work. Yes, even on a Saturday. The Pediatric Emergency Room rotation I’d been on for almost a week was a huge change from the newborn ICU, where I’d spent the month before this. The fast pace of the ER, the quick turnover, the need to think on my feet… I loved it. The stress of hopping from one rotation to another, always feeling like a fish out of water, was softened a bit by how awesome this rotation was. The shifts were short, too, compared to my other rotations. Most of them were only 8-10 hours, although they were super intense. At least the challenge of the new rotation would keep my mind off…other things. Like Brax.
Maybe I’d go back to the club next week or the week after and find someone else. Someone who would actually do a scene with me.
“Hey, guys. How are things going?” I walked into the doctors’ workroom, checking out who else was there for the day. I tossed my bag on an empty chair to claim my spot for the shift. “Busy in here?”
I’d been on my Emergency Room rotation for almost two weeks now. The time had flown by, with every shift bringing in something new. I’d been so tired at the end of every shift that I hadn’t had time to think too much about Brax or about going back to Blackstone.
“Hey, Avery. Not too busy right now, but it’s early. You know Fridays don’t usually pick up till afternoon, so we have a few hours where it shouldn’t be too crazy.” Dr. Johnston knocked on the wood of the desk to ward off bad luck. “There’s an eight-year-old with appendicitis in room 2 that should be ready to go to surgery any minute, and a five-year-old with asthma in room 6 that’s looking like she’ll be able to go home in a couple hours. We just got a call that the police are bringing in a baby. He was surrendered at the fire station, so they’re bringing him in for a wellness check before they set him up in a home. Can you take that one?” The attending doctor was in her forties, beloved by the residents for her laid-back attitude and unwavering support of the trainees.
“Sure thing, boss. I’ll check on the other two until they get here.” I draped my stethoscope around my neck. I headed out of the workroom and to the left, down a hallway of patient rooms.
Thirty minutes later, I was signing my notes for the patient going to surgery and ready to see a new patient just as the ambulance arrived with the baby.
