There were only a few days of this trip left to woo her, in however nontraditional a manner, and he had to show her they had the potential to be so much more than a vacation fling. He wanted her to see him as a partner, a man she could picture herself with ten years from now. It was going to be a tricky balancing act, helping her explore long-repressed desires while making sure he kept his idiotic jealousy under control. If he knew how she felt about him, it would certainly help. He and his late wife had greatly enjoyed swinging and partner swapping, but the introduction of other people into their bedroom had only come after an intense level of trust had been built between them.
In an effort to distract himself, he tried to focus on Julia. “Which lucky sub gets the pleasure of your company?” The smile fell from Julia’s face, and Bryan cocked his head. “Did I say something wrong?”
“No, not you.” She took a deep breath and rolled her shoulders. “You remember that kid who got hurt yesterday? The one with the rent-a-domme?”
“I heard a little bit about it this morning at the founders meeting. That bitch had better be glad management escorted her out of the resort.” The abuse of a sub tended to be dealt with swiftly and severely among the BDSM community.
“Yeah, well, I wanted Saul, that’s his name, to know we’re not all like that.” She fingered the whip at her side. “Poor kid. He wants so badly to serve, but he was brought up in a very strict household in New York City and went to work for his parents right after he graduated from an überconservative college. Very sweet, very eager to please, and very naive.”
“So you managed to talk him into letting you top him today?”
“Yeah, it wasn’t easy. I met with him in the hospital, and we had a long, long discussion about the lifestyle.”
“Shows a lot of trust to meet you here.” Bryan watched a pretty flush creep up Julia’s cheeks, and had to suppress his grin.
“I know. I had him pick an avatar that would make him feel powerful, that would show the world the beast inside. And he can use his safe word at any time to get out of here…unlike when he was trapped with that bitch.” Her hands clenched into fists, and he feared for her fingers snapping before she blew out a tense breath. She sat forward and braced her elbows on her knees, peering up at him with her dark and intelligent eyes. “Enough about my fucked-up situation. What about you? What pretty little thing are you going to play with? Let me guess—young, ditzy, and blonde, will probably be wearing a bunny avatar.”
Bryan glared at her, but she calmly raised one eyebrow. Julia had met a few of the subs he’d played around with after his wife’s death, and had been less than impressed with his selections. Come to think of it, he’d been less than impressed with his selections. They had all been pretty much what Julia said: young, ditzy, and blonde. God, he was like the Hugh Hefner of the BDSM world. He’d made sure none of the women had the substance that would make him consider a long-term relationship just as much as he’d selected them for their disinterest in settling down.
Julia cleared her throat in an annoying manner, and he sighed. “She may be blonde, but she isn’t young or dumb. In fact, Tanwen has to—”
“Did you say her name is Tanwen? Big hazel eyes, late thirties with really nice curves?”
“Yeah, you know her?”
“Kind of. I met her when I talked to Margo last night. She was also one of the people who helped me with Saul. She’s a nurse and kept him from freaking out while we took care of him. Really smart lady and quick on her feet.” She sat back and laid her arms over the back of the bench. “Funny, I wouldn’t have pegged her as a sub. She seemed very in control when we were getting Saul stabilized.”
Bryan felt his heart swell with pride that his little flame had leaped right in to help a stranger. No one at the founders meeting had mentioned the names of the women who’d helped Saul, just that they’d done a great job. “Julia, you know better than most that being a sub doesn’t mean the person is weak. Think of how many officers you know who like to bend a knee to their enlisted staff sergeant mistress once the uniforms come off.”
A wicked grin teased Julia’s lips. “Well, that is true. I do love a good major tied to a spanking bench.” Her expression turned serious. “You be careful with her. She’s a nice lady and deserves a dom who will treat her right. She’s not like the plastic dolls you usually play with.”
Anger threaded through Bryan, and his voice came out in a soft growl. “Watch yourself, Julia. I like you and I consider you a friend, but I won’t stand for you insulting me like that. I would never betray a sub’s trust or get involved with one who wanted more than I had to give.”
Julia gave him a curt nod and stood. “You’re right. I’m sorry.” She glanced over his shoulder, and her dark eyes sparkled with warmth. “Saul just arrived. If I see Tanwen, I’ll put in a good word for you.”
He stood and gave her a one-armed hug and swatted her butt lightly, earning a scowl.
“On second thought, I’ll tell her to invest in a good vibrator because there isn’t enough Viagra in the real world to keep you hard.”
Before he could stop laughing, she had sauntered over to a cage where Saul, wearing an avatar of a rather vicious-looking hybrid of a black bear and a man, had appeared. Easily seven feet tall, his body rippled with muscle where it wasn’t covered in a pelt of black fur. Long claws curved out of his hands, and his canines looked sharp enough to rend flesh from bone. His human face had been subtly altered to give a somewhat animalistic appearance. A silver chain mail kilt covered his groin and gleamed in the sunlight as he turned and stared at himself in the mirror at the back of the cage.
Julia approached the door to his enclosure and snapped her whip, causing Saul to jump. At the sight of Julia, he smiled and practically ran to the door. He towered over her as she stood on the other side of the bars. Something she said made him laugh in a low growl. When their fingers met through the bars of the cage, Saul moved very carefully so that she could curve her hand around his without harming herself on his claws.
The trust they showed with the simple touch compounded the hollow feeling in Bryan’s heart. He wanted Tanwen to trust him like that, to let him guide her and take care of her. As strong of a woman as she was, he needed her to know she could let go of the reins, that as her dominant he would take care of all her needs. The only thing she was responsible for was embracing the experience and pleasure he offered her. He stared at the cage where she would appear, trying to will her into existence. When the air began to shimmer, he let out a small whoop of joy and tried to ignore the chuckles of the other doms that still waited for their subs. He would be her perfect master and give her every experience she wanted.
As the wavering light began to take shape into a deliciously rounded figure covered in white fur, all thoughts except taking Tanwen in his arms as quickly as possible vanished.
Chapter Seven
A brief moment of darkness signaled Tanwen’s transition from the real world to the VR world, and the first breath she sucked in of the simulated air felt as genuine as real air. She opened her eyes and found herself in an elaborate cage complete with a bed of silk pillows and a mirror over a small basin of water. When she saw herself in the mirror, she squeaked in shock and watched her reflection do the same.
She was a fox!
Actually she was a hybrid of a human and a snow-white fox. She raised her hand—no, her paw—to her face and ran her long black claws over her cheek. White fur covered most of her body but faded to a superfine down over her face and the front of her torso. To her delight, she had a gorgeous fluffy white tail that curled around her feet. With a little bit of concentration, she learned how to use that tail. It was akin to moving an arm or a leg but more like a twitch of the hips. A sparkly petal pink bikini top covered her breasts and a pink miniskirt of the same material rode low on her hips under her tail. A gold chain secured the skirt around her waist and gleamed against her snowy fur.