Gen swallowed. "Deal."
*
Confirming Gen's theory of where Noah's attention really was, the instant Lyda gestured in his direction, his eyes were on them both. As he came toward them, he gave Gen his serious smile. Yet when he reached out to take her hand, Lyda lifted a palm.
"Gen is your Mistress tonight, Noah. Not your equal. You understand?"
"Yes Mistress." He stepped back, giving Gen an intriguing look before his dark eyes lowered, sending a startling bolt of anticipation through her. All the things she'd seen here or imagined flashed through her mind. Yet she honestly wasn't sure how to start. She looked toward Lyda. Fortunately, the woman did as she'd promised. She helped, becoming Gen's Domme 101 personal tour guide.
"How about a semiprivate area? One of the cubicle areas that can still be viewed from the upper levels, but feels a little more sequestered, like a corner table in a restaurant."
Gen nodded. "I like that."
Lyda scraped a nail down Noah's arm, making the same spot on Gen's arm tingle. "I'm thinking Gen would like to learn more about how pain and pleasure work. You did keep her waiting, Noah."
"Yes Mistress. My apologies."
"Oh, I..." At Lyda's look, Gen let that trail off. She took her lead from the other woman. "That's true. And you missed a spot on my stomach with the sunscreen."
The red area was the size of a penny. The evidence of how thorough he'd been everywhere else had made the spot endlessly fascinating to her.
Lyda's reaction surprised her. Reaching over, she lifted Gen's shirt. Gen shivered as that fingertip slid over the abraded area. No nail this time, just a light caress. Dropping the shirt back in place, Lyda leveled a steely gaze on Noah.
"You'll get a severe punishment from me later, Noah. I made it clear that you were to protect every inch of Gen while she was in your care."
"Yes ma'am." Noah looked genuinely chagrined. "I'm sorry."
"It's okay," Gen hastened to tell him. "It doesn't hurt at all."
His look broke her out of any role-playing, because for Noah, it clearly wasn't a game at all. Maybe this wasn't a good idea.
Lyda touched her arm, drawing her gaze with the caress. The woman's direct look was reassurance and admonition both. Don't pussy out of this. Don't doubt yourself.
The night at her house, Lyda had made it clear Noah needed heavy handed. Even on her best day, Gen couldn't give him that. So she really couldn't go too far. It was okay. Lyda had said she'd keep Noah safe, and Gen wanted to try being a Domme. She firmed her chin. "Can we... Let's go to the cubicle."
Lyda rose. With Noah following behind, she led Gen to the far side of the large public play area on the main floor. The cubicle area was called "The Maze". It was designed so people could walk through and see what was going on in each space, but only four or five could stand in the opening of any given cubicle. A red line was drawn at that threshold to keep them outside the space itself.
The only place for large gatherings of viewers was in the distant upper mezzanine, lacing the privacy Lyda had mentioned with the thrill of exhibitionism. Some of the cubicles only had a chair and a scattering of restraint and flogger options on the walls. Others had equipment in them, pillories, a St. Andrew's Cross, and things Gen couldn't identify but which made her intensely curious as to their purposes.
Lyda took them to a cubicle on the edge of the maze, partially hidden from above by the mezzanine overhang. A rectangular frame with a thick, padded top piece was anchored to the floor. The top piece was a few inches above Noah's head. It also had rings embedded in it. On the wall was a selection of cuffs that could be attached to them. On the floor, about two feet in front of the frame, she saw a pair of steel boots, also bolted to the floor.
"The boots can be adjusted to lock onto his calves, so he can't move his feet," Lyda explained. "You put his hands in the cuffs attached to the top of the frame. Because of the position of the boots to the frame, his forward weight rests on his palms. It helps him brace himself while you're punishing him. Or fucking him."
Fucking him? Gen followed Lyda's attention to an array of packaged strap-ons, in various sizes. "Oh. I don't know if I could..."
"You've never thought of fucking a man the way he fucks you? Feeling the power that comes from thrusting into him, taking his surrender?"
She'd just wanted a man who treated her decently. Who loved her. She hadn't given anything else a lot of thought, not until recently. Fantasizing about things like strap-ons fed her newly discovered prurient imaginings. What was even better, she was being encouraged to pursue the prurient imaginings. Gen didn't look up beyond the cubicle walls, though. She didn't want to know who might be watching on the mezzanine, didn't want to lose her courage.
"Does this work?"
At Gen's nod, Lyda touched her hand. "He's yours to command. What would you like to do first? You can tell him to kneel until you decide. He waits on your pleasure."
Noah was standing so close to Gen's back that his breath stirred her neck hairs. He'd never stand this close to Lyda without her permission. But he knew she and Lyda were different. She wasn't trying to be Lyda. She was trying to be who Gen would be in a Dominant role. That felt right to her, as did drawing reassurance from his proximity. "Noah, go to the corner and kneel until I call you. Um...take off all your clothes first."
Lyda gave her an approving nod. His fingers brushed Gen's hip, maybe because of the small space, or maybe he just took advantage of that. She didn't mind that, either. With a sinuous twist of his upper body, he pulled the T-shirt off his head, then shucked off jeans, underwear, shoes. He put it all in a neat pile under one of the two chairs and then knelt, balancing his ass on his heels, placing his hands on his knees, his eyes directed to the floor. His thighs were spread, giving her full access to a stiffening cock. From direct experience she knew the testicle sac hanging beneath was substantial and pleasing in the grip of her hand.
With an amused, conspiratorial look, Lyda drew Gen to the implements on the wall, picked up a flogger. "This is a good weight for a novice. If you hit hard with it, it will sting, but it can't do any damage, not if you're aiming at back, ass and legs. Even if you slap his testicles some, he'll jump in a pretty delightful manner, but you're still not endangering him in any way."