Though with Bryan it was probably just another notch in his dom belt. She should be flattered he even wanted to spend time with her. Considering the envious looks she got at dinner last night from the other subs, she had a feeling Bryan would never be lacking in female company. Since he had such a sense of honor, maybe he was just with her because he’d promised he would be, but he really wanted to be with someone else.
She certainly didn’t have much to offer in the kinky sex department. Anxiety made her fidget on the bed. After this simulation, she should let him know it was okay if he wanted to be with someone else for the remainder of his vacation. After all, he didn’t come here to babysit a middle-aged woman who was obviously having some type of sexual midlife crisis.
Bryan had to resist the urge to pace as he waited for Tanwen to appear in her cage. All around him, Belle Isle spread out in stunning VR perfection on an amazingly beautiful early summer day. The island had been turned into a kinkster’s delight by the dedicated staff of Sodom’s VR department. Fluffy white clouds drifted across a sky so blue it almost glowed, and the scent of the river carried on the soft breeze. The sunlight warmed his bare back, and he was glad he’d decided to go shirtless. True, he’d mainly gone shirtless in an effort to show Tanwen what he had to offer, but he’d be sweating like a whore in church if he’d worn the leather shirt he’d originally planned. Or would he? The other doms dressed in full latex and leather didn’t seem to be suffering from the heat, so he wondered if the VR technology allowed the body to be comfortable at all times.
He and a group of masters and mistresses stood together at the edge of the river around a group of wrought-iron benches. He nodded at some friends, then took a seat. Overhead a giant trellis was festooned with honeysuckle flowers that shimmered and sparkled like jewels. In the real world, the restoration of the park was one of the owners of the Sodom resort’s personal projects. If the real Belle Isle Zoo looked anything like this, Bryan could see why Luke, along with his husband and wife, had fought so hard to save it from the urban decay that had threatened to consume it in the 1980s and ’90s.
As he scanned the part of Belle Isle visible from his bench, he tried to superimpose the images of the run-down zoo he’d seen from the brochure he’d read while waiting for his VR therapist to load up his simulation. Instead of crumbling buildings and rusty signs, the zoo sparkled as if it had just been built. All the proceeds from today’s VR event would go toward the rehabilitation of Belle Isle and creating jobs to maintain and upkeep the new zoo, aquarium, and conservatory.
His thoughts turned to Tanwen, and he couldn’t wait to share this with her, to explore all the hidden wonders of this BDSM playground. He’d fallen asleep last night thinking about her, after he’d jacked off to the fantasy of pulling that pink dress over her head, pressing her chest down into that strawberry dessert at dinner, and fucking the hell out of her. Something he couldn’t wait to do again, to claim her in the most primal way possible as his woman.
He could have been with any number of willing partners after dinner, but none of them captured his interest as much as Tanwen. Oh, he’d appreciated their beauty and their willingness to serve, but the only cheeks he wanted to see flushing pink with desire were Tanwen’s. He’d also noticed how the other doms had watched her leave the table, and he put the word out that she was his sub and hands off, even if she wasn’t wearing his collar. Some of his long-time friends had been rather surprised by him staking a claim on her. They were used to his casual relationships where, if his partner wanted someone else, he’d just cut her loose. With Tanwen he’d found someone worth fighting for, and he wasn’t quite sure about how to deal with his unexpected possessive side.
Part of him worried about the strength of his feelings for the beautiful little sub. He hadn’t reacted to a woman like this since his wife passed, and he couldn’t help but feel a tiny bit guilty. He knew Katie had wanted him to find love again—she’d told him as much from her hospital bed—but it seemed almost unfair to her memory that he found another woman who stirred the same feelings in him he thought had died with his wife.
As he gazed out over the river, he considered that for the first time in years, he found himself liking a woman on all levels, not just the physical or emotional. Though he’d only known her for a brief time, he could see Tanwen was the kind of woman he would enjoy being around, the kind of woman he could have deep conversations with, followed by steamy hot sex. His imagination showed him Tanwen curled up in his bed, snuggled against him as they slept together. A sharp ache went through his heart, and he realized that despite all his girlfriends, he never actually saw them as more than a distraction from his loneliness rather than a cure.
A small white marble pier jutted out into the river, with a landing platform at the end. The air shimmered for a moment, and a new domme entered the simulation. Bryan recognized his friend Julia and waved a hand in greeting as she blinked in wonder. She raised her hand and returned his wave, the cream leather catsuit she wore complementing her lean figure. A golden whip hung from her side, and a pair of golden cuffs gleamed on her wrists. Bryan couldn’t help but grin at the reference to Wonder Woman, one of Julia’s personal heroes.
The smile that lit her face chased away some of his anxiety. There was such joy in it that he found himself smiling back. When Julia reached his side, she fairly vibrated with excitement. “Bryan! I didn’t think you did the whole VR thing. I thought you said it was too hokey for you.”
He grimaced, but humor sparkled in his eyes. “I still say it’s not as good as real life, but it certainly has its perks.”
She chuckled and took a seat on the bench, stretching her long legs out with a sigh. “This is just…wow. I’m glad I got here before my sub so he didn’t see me staring and gawking like some farm girl fresh off the watermelon truck.”
Bryan couldn’t help but glance toward Tanwen’s cage again, and his gut tightened to see it was still empty. Maybe she had changed her mind. Maybe she had found another dom she wanted to play with instead. He didn’t like that thought, and if he saw her on someone else’s leash, he’d be liable to get himself thrown out of Sodom for pounding the other dom’s face in.
With a start, he realized he was obsessing about beating up an imaginary dom for being with a sub that wasn’t even technically his. Good Lord, that little slip of a woman had him acting like a teenage boy with his first love. He had to get ahold of himself and his emotions before he saw her.
If she showed up.
He forced himself to think about Tanwen and what he already knew about her. With her sense of honor and keeping her word, she would show up, and he needed to step up his game. He’d be charming and show her that she could have all the experiences she’d been yearning for and still be his sub.
Before entering the simulation, he’d been given a brief rundown of all the different things they could do together. He wondered if she would like to be in a pet show, competing against other subs in agility challenges. Of course the challenges were of a very carnal nature so they would both enjoy it, but he wasn’t sure if she was the type who took pleasure from being displayed. No, he would take her through the zoo and see what piqued her interest. As amazing as this simulation was, he wanted her to remember it not because of the VR but because of him.