Top Student: Come Again, Book 3.5 (5 page)

Kat stood in her bra and panties, wondering.

“Any questions?”

Her hand shot up. “What kind of Domme are you?”

Approval and humor lit Destiny’s eyes. “The kind who likes schoolgirls.” Destiny kicked her belongings out of the way and handed her a small pile of neatly folded clothing. She reached up to tap Kat’s feathered mask. “Avian schoolgirls.” There was laughter from the crowd, and Destiny mock glared. “Don’t judge. My kinks are just fine.”

It occurred to Kat that Destiny had cut off her tank top because taking it off over her head might have dislodged her wig or mask. The thoughtful act erased her remaining doubts. She was in good hands, and she was going do her best to play her submissive role to the hilt.

She explored the costume, discovering a tiny pleated black-watch-plaid skirt and a white midriff-baring shirt with a button-down collar. Sure enough, there was a pair of knee-high socks. When she looked up, smiling, she saw a pair of platform Mary Janes dangling from Destiny’s finger. Kat donned her costume slowly, getting in character.

She sensed Destiny changing as well, and by the time she was ready, in costume, standing straight, chin level, eyes downcast, Destiny had replaced her leather pants and wife beater with a sedate navy-blue suit. Her dreads were pulled back into a bun, and she was wearing sexy dark-rimmed glasses. She clasped a string of pearls around her neck, and soft laughter swept through the crowd again.

Kat looked behind her and saw Johnny setting up folding chairs. When Destiny gestured toward the smaller desk and she took a seat, Kat truly felt like she was sitting in a classroom.

Destiny heaved a melodramatic sigh. “I am a fantastic teacher, but you are a terrible pupil. Wayward, a party girl, you often fall asleep in class.” Definitely a role Kat could play since it described her high school days to a tee. She slumped in the desk, adopting a bored expression.

Destiny started her lecture, covering much of the same material Kat had been up all night reading. The room was warm and absolutely silent except for the sound of Destiny’s soft voice, going on and on about spanking, flogging and caning until Kat began to drowse.

A sudden sharp crack brought Kat out of her daze, and she realized Destiny was standing next to her, holding a ruler. Her strike had missed Kat’s knuckles by inches. “I can see you aren’t an auditory learner. Perhaps my lessons will sink in a little better if I demonstrate them on your ass. Go stand behind my desk.”

Kat struggled to her feet.

Destiny’s hand pressed into the middle of her back, urging her forward until she reached the desk. Destiny used both hands to push her down to the desk then flipped her short skirt up to her waist. “There’s always someone who needs to learn the hard way.”

She jolted as a loud knock interrupted whatever Destiny was about to say next.

“Principal Delcorral! How lovely to have a visit from you today. I was just about to do the hand-to-cane demo for my students. This little lady volunteered by snoring.”

“I doubt she’ll do that again.”

Kat pressed her lips together to keep from grinning. She glanced up through her lashes to see envy on more than one face in the crowd. Then she threw herself back into her role. Should she protest or try to sweet-talk her teacher? Should she beg for another chance or egg Destiny on?

Before she could decide, Destiny spanked her hard. Fury shot heat through her limbs, short-circuiting her brain, and she half-turned, intending to put Destiny facedown over the desk, plant her Mary Jane between her shoulder blades and return the favor. She froze when she saw Johnny standing beside the desk. His expression was mocking, as if he knew exactly what she was thinking. Had he come to offer backup, expecting her to fail? No fucking way.

Resolutely, she pressed her chest into the desk, tuning out Destiny as she droned on and on about the virtues and drawbacks of spanking by hand. Every smack of her hand produced a shot of adrenaline and brought Kat back to the edge of fury, but she remained still and silent. She could do this. She would do this. For Bonita. All she had to do was lie here. It was just pain.

Finally Destiny moved on to a paddle, which produced a different sensation, louder but duller. Then a crop, sharp, focused and hot. A thin rubber flogger that stung like a bitch. A leather flogger with thicker strands, which produced a duller rain of pain that lasted longer, each strike resonating until the next one fell.

Her ass was hot. Her chest was glued to the desk by sweat. Her fingers gripped the edge so hard they cramped. And still Destiny chattered on. Through a haze of determination, Kat peeked at the dry-erase board. Almost done. Hopefully. Only one item left on the list: the cane.

She heard a whistle and then a sharp
thwap
. For a split second she felt nothing. Then her ass caught fire. She shrieked as the blaze traveled outward to her arms and legs, her fingers and toes, seeming to ignite every inch of her skin before it settled down to burn a hot line across her ass again. She shot to her feet, and Johnny caught her. “Easy, you’re almost done.”

Kat’s lungs heaved. If one blow from the cane felt like lightning striking her ass, more would incinerate her, but she took a deep breath, nodded at Johnny and Destiny, and went facedown on the desk. However much it took, she would do it for Bonita. She would do anything to learn how to bring Bonita back where she belonged—with Kat.

She waited for the whistle of the cane, but all she heard was silence. She felt Destiny’s hand on her ass, stroking, lighting up her abused nerves. She gritted her teeth, every instinct urging her to move away from the pain, but she remained still. Destiny’s hand reached between her thighs. Her fingers slipped beneath her underwear, pressing into her vagina. Kat winced at the intrusion. Clearly, Destiny wanted her to submit to more than just pain tonight.

Desperately, she imagined herself in Destiny’s position with Bonita on the desk. She closed her eyes tight and began weaving her favorite fantasy: she and Bonita in bed, skin to skin, embracing. A hand squeezed her buttock and she gasped, distracted from the image. She struggled to rebuild her fantasy, but a hand grasped her wig and yanked her head back, lifting her torso off the desk until she was in a half-cobra stretch, holding herself high to keep the wig from coming off her head.

“Open your eyes.” Destiny’s fingers moved faster, seeking a response Kat could not give her. She obeyed, and her fantasy vanished. Her budding arousal turned to devastation. The books had taught her what Destiny expected to see in her gaze right now, and she was so far from subspace it was ridiculous. She knew Destiny wanted her to climax, and if she could, she would, but she couldn’t orgasm this way, not like this, not unless Destiny switched positions with her.

She saw acknowledgment in Destiny’s eyes and wanted to weep.

Destiny had put her to the test, and Kat knew without a single doubt she had failed.
Lonely, I’m going to be so lonely without Bonita.
Her tongue pressed to the roof of her mouth, her safe word a breath away.

“Scene.” Destiny’s voice rang out. She let go of the wig, and Kat collapsed onto the desk. She sucked several deep breaths, glad for the mask and wig that hid her expression as she watched the crowd disperse. To the onlookers, her tense muscles and subsequent collapse had probably looked like an orgasm, but she and Destiny knew the truth.

She had failed.

“Let’s go.”

Destiny and Johnny led her away from the schoolroom setup, which felt like a mockery now, but as they moved across the main room, the admiring glances cast her way were worse. Didn’t they know she was a sham? She wasn’t capable of learning what she needed to know to bring Bonita back. She stumbled, almost falling to her knees, but Destiny and Johnny caught her, half-dragging, half-carrying her to the room they had been in last night. Suddenly she was shivering, and tears poured from her eyes.

When the door shut behind them, Johnny wrapped a blanket around her body and picked her up, carrying her to the couch. She wanted to say thank you, but her teeth were chattering too hard. Destiny sat beside her and began pulling pins from the wig. Kat felt better when the wig was off, but she still couldn’t speak.

Johnny handed Destiny a wet towel, and she began gently wiping Kat’s face. The warm water was soothing, so she closed her eyes. She didn’t know why Destiny was being so kind to her, but it felt good. She heard the towel fall to the floor and felt Destiny’s fingers unbraid her hair. Destiny combed through the tangles, and her touch soothed the shivers from Kat’s body. Kat kept her eyes closed as Destiny shifted them so that they were lying on the couch. Hands smoothed another blanket around them. Kat felt like she was all rough edges, but if she didn’t think, if she didn’t remember, she could exist in this moment and not hurt.

“Look at me.” Destiny’s voice was soft.

Kat didn’t want to open her eyes, but she did it anyway. She didn’t want to disappoint Destiny any further. Destiny had done her best and deserved respect. As she gazed into Destiny’s eyes, she felt a bond form between them, and she shuddered as the last of the chill left her body.

“Feel that? Feel this?” Destiny caressed Kat’s hip, pulling her closer, and then gestured at their entwined bodies.

Kat nodded, confused.

“A-plus for successful submission.”

Kat shook her head. “I couldn’t do it. I didn’t get anywhere near subspace during that scene.” She hid her face against Destiny’s chest and both felt and heard her chuckle.

“Every person in the room knew you were a Dominant. I told them before you arrived, so we could all enjoy your performance that much more. You were amazing. There aren’t that many Dominants who will submit to a cane, and when you went facedown for more, I think half the audience had an orgasm. Thank you for that.” Destiny pressed a kiss to her lips.

It took Kat a second to process, but then she struggled into a sitting position, throwing off the blankets. “You were fucking with me.”

“I told you I would, and you said yes,” Destiny said calmly. “As a matter of fact, it isn’t even fetish night at Upstairs tonight. Saturday night is orgy night, but we postponed the festivities so everyone could watch our scene. Now get a grip on that über-ego so we can talk about what happened. Johnny, give her some juice, please.”

Kat glared at him as he handed her a juice box.

“You need to get your blood sugar up.” His voice was mild, and his matter-of-fact expression made her envy his detachment. Her emotions were going haywire, and it was that fact that made her pause to think. Maybe she didn’t know what had just happened. The whole last hour felt surreal. The only two people who could give her insight were calmly drinking juice, but it was the “A-plus” that kept her from leaving. If there was a chance she could still do this successfully, she wanted to take it.

Her abused ass throbbed as she tried to find a comfortable position on the couch, and she glowered at them while she sucked juice from the straw. It tasted like nectar, so she drank it all. By the time she finished, she no longer wanted to storm out of the room and raze the club to the ground. Progress.

“Start talking,” she demanded.

Destiny gave Johnny a wry look. “I was enjoying her submissive side.”

Kat shook her head. “I am
not
submissive.” Regret chilled her again, and she grabbed one of the blankets from the floor and wrapped it around her shoulders.

“Nope, not a bit. As far as the spectrum goes, you’re as far on the Dominant side as he is.” Destiny pointed at Johnny, who grinned and handed Kat a peeled orange. “But Bonita is important to me. In addition to giving you some insight into what Bonita likes about BDSM, I wanted to make myself one hundred percent certain of your devotion to her before I gave you the keys to her kingdom.”

Hope made it hard to get the words out. “Are you certain now?”

“And then some.”

Kat stood up, throwing off the blanket. “Then strip.”

Both Destiny and Johnny chuckled.

“Not so fast,” Destiny said. “You aren’t ready for your next lesson yet. You’ve been through a lot tonight. Remember all that shivering, shaking and sobbing?”

“Not likely to forget it.”

“Sub drop.”

A light went off in her head. Destiny stood and walked over to stroke her hair. Kat allowed it, bending when she tugged. She felt Destiny’s breath in her ear, and a spark kindled inside her. “You couldn’t reach subspace on the desk, but what do you think would have happened if I hadn’t told you to open your eyes when we were lying on the couch?”

Kat pulled back, staring at her, astounded.
Anything. Everything.
She hadn’t had a thought in her head or a desire in her heart except to stay in that moment, protected. “Is that what submission feels like?”

Destiny’s gaze was hot and sweet as she nodded. “I didn’t want to let you surface. It was quite a rush to have you curled up in my arms. You were utterly abandoned to me, body relaxed, heart open, spirit seeking connection. But I wanted to talk while everything was fresh. Topping is a big responsibility, and I wanted to make sure you understood how much power you would have over Bonita.”

“So what’s next?” Kat asked, exultant at the realization she hadn’t failed. Destiny hadn’t expected her to be able to submit at all, so she had done better than expected. Arousal shot through her at the thought of a flogger in her hand and Bonita arching into the lash, begging for more. She stroked Destiny’s back, pulling her off-balance into a yielding position, suddenly starving to take command.