into the crowd.
“You’re so cute,” said Julian fondly, caressing her smooth cheek.
Zoe pushed his hand away with the same disdain she had shown the slave.
“She’s sleeping on Ralph Lauren sheets tonight!” were Zoe’s last words to Julian before she abandoned him entirely to rejoin Teresa Clifford.
Julian scowled with vexation. Zoe’s combativeness was annoying.
Did she think she could turn on her heel and walk away from him like that?
Gloria’s scene with the rope man lasted a half hour, during which time Julian moodily circled the rooms, keeping his eye on Zoe all the while. Now she remained exclusively by the side of the glamorous Teresa, who introduced her to local players.
Finally Julian overheard Zoe consenting to be spanked, then and there, by a young man who was one of the few beside himself not dressed in fetish attire. Unable to resist joining the semi-circle of voyeurs who instantly formed to watch the new girl being spanked, Julian found himself standing close enough to hear the interchange between the stranger and Zoe as it progressed.
First the man clumsily pulled up the tight, expensive, leather dress with Zoe’s anxious cooperation, to expose her pantied, garter-belted bottom. Julian recognized the expensive French combination he had bought her just the other day at Barney’s, and a puff of indignation swelled his chest.
Being neither a polished nor experienced spanker, the young man brought his hand down with the full force of his arm. Zoe cried, “Hey!” and twisted on his lap, trying to slide off. The young man tightened his grip on her waist and walloped her hard three more times, which caused her to violently kick and loudly protest. Julian was momentarily amused.
“Mercy!” Zoe cried angrily.
The young man ignored her plea and raised his arm high above his head to whack her squirming bottom again. But the crude practitioner was never allowed to continue, for Julian caught his wrist.
“The girl has had enough,” Julian told him curtly as Zoe seized the opportunity to scramble off his lap.
“Wait a minute, we were doing a scene,” Zoe’s towheaded assailant protested with some annoyance.
“She said ‘mercy’ and you ignored her,” Julian firmly replied.
“Hey, are you two posers or what? These parties are for serious players,” the veteran member pointed out. Zoe, for her part, could not believe that anyone who could hit so hard could also whine like a girl.
Meanwhile, she wasn’t sure whether to be grateful to Julian for saving her or angry with him for interfering.
“Excuse me,” she said to the offended spanker, then she turned to Julian and muttered a reluctant thank you before marching off to find Teresa, rubbing her bottom through the leather dress as she went.
Julian bristled at Zoe’s not according his truly knightly behavior the proper recognition and resolved to teach her better manners at the first opportunity. He watched her rejoin the poised Teresa Clifford with a mixture of admiration and irritation.
Then he looked across the room at his compliant little pat of creamery butter, now coming out of a standing rope tie, all blushes and trembling. She was exactly what he thought he wanted and as it turned out, she bored him to death. Not to mention the fact that her vulgar remarks to Zoe had given him a very real dislike of Gloria.
With sudden decision Julian walked up to Zoe. Surprised and with a fluttering heart, Zoe introduced him to Teresa.
“It’s a real pleasure to meet you,” said Julian. “I’ve been a fan for years.” Teresa bowed her head with a slight smile. “And I should also thank you for the introduction to Zoe,” he added.
“You’re welcome. I’m happy to see that it worked out so well,” murmured Teresa, excusing herself almost immediately to meet a friend across the room. For Julian was far too attractive for Teresa to risk gazing into the eyes of for more than a moment. Zoe attempted to follow her friend but Julian grabbed her hand before she could get away, the touch electrifying them both.
“Just a minute, young lady. I want to talk to you.”
“Yes?”
“Were you going straight home from here?”
“...Yes.”
“Good. Because I’ll be stopping by around midnight.”
“What about Gloria?”
“I’m taking her home now.”
“But, aren’t you spending the night together?”
“Just be home by midnight,” he told her.
“I will be,” she replied, with surprising meekness.
Julian made her wait until twelve -thirty before arriving at her door and strolling into her sitting room. Zoe had changed into the taupe silk gown and wrapper set that had been another present from Julian.
Outwardly calm, her heart was pounding as she took his jacket from him and put it away.
“Make me a drink,” he ordered coolly, “and try to get the proportions right this time.” He removed his tie, unbuttoned his collar and rolled up his sleeves. In due time Zoe brought him a carefully prepared vodka tonic, which he took from her and drained in a couple of gulps, causing her eyes to widen. Suddenly flooded with peppery warmth he almost smiled at Zoe’s look of consternation. “Good thing you got that right, at least,” he tossed off in her direction, unbuttoning another shirt button.
“I’m surprised to see you here tonight,” she admitted. “I’ve never known a man to change his plans before.”
“Well, I felt your licking couldn’t wait until tomorrow,” he explained.
“But what did I do?”
“First of all, you lied to me about what you were doing tonight,” he remembered triumphantly.
“I did?”
“Remember I called you yesterday and asked you about your plans for the weekend? You said you were busy Friday night and mentioned something about female bonding. But you never once mentioned that you’d be turning up at the OOTC party. Why not?”
“Because it was a last minute decision, I guess,” Zoe hastily explained, knowing full well she had kept her intentions a secret for no reason other than a love of subterfuge.
“Had I known you were going to be there I never would have come with Gloria.”
“Is that true?”
“Of course.”
“Are you going to see her again?”
“No.”
“Because of me?”
“Because of you.”
“Oh!”
