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  "I am not just submissive, Autumn. I am a little."

  A soft smile spread across Autumn's face as she gave her friend a hug and whispered in her ear, "You suck at hiding stuff from me, too." Autumn walked away, giggling at the stunned expression on her friend's face.

  "You two can stay for the party, but there are some rules."

  Autumn rolled her eyes. She'd better be allowed to stay for the party. She had worked hard to get this man moved into his new house, and how did he repay her? He had her and his sister sitting side by side on the couch so he could lay out the rules. What were they, kids about to be let loose with the family car for the first time?

  "Stand," Leland commanded as soon as Autumn's eyes focused back on him.

  She bit her lip and shot a quick glance at Sierra, who showed absolutely no sympathy as Autumn did as she was told. She was used to being with a Dom at the clubs, but it was taking longer than she hoped to curb her sass in an everyday setting.

  "Turn around." Leland twirled his finger in the air menacingly.

  As soon as she was facing away from him, he stepped to her left side and landed ten hard, well-placed smacks to each thigh just under the hem of her shorts. She did her best to stay still, but the need to dance on her tiptoes got the best of her.

  "Just as well. I was trying to decide how to let everyone know you were off-limits tonight. What better way than to have my handprints on the back of your legs?"

  Autumn peered over her shoulder and tried to speak as politely as she could. "Sir? You couldn't have just told them that I was off-limits for the night?"

  "He needed to stake his claim before he let you loose."

  Autumn watched as Leland gave his sister a knowing smile before she spoke. "I thought you said everyone knew I belonged to him weeks ago?"

  "Oh, they did, but his marks on your ass will be like a flashing neon sign showing all who care to know that he isn't sharing. For tonight, anyway."

  Autumn's mouth dropped open as she looked back and forth between the siblings, trying to determine if she was joking. Finally, she asked, "You share?"

  "I have in the past, yes, but I am not sure I am going to be so willing with you. The thought of someone else fucking you brings my blood to a boil," Leland reassured before he threw the next curve ball at her. "However, the thought of watching someone paddle that beautiful ass of yours makes me impossibly hard."

  "Eww!" Sierra squealed as she covered her ears with her hands, closed her eyes and started to hum to herself as she rocked.

  Leland rolled his eyes at his sister's antics before his face grew stern and he turned back to his wayward girlfriend, obviously ready to get back to the original topic. "If you are going to curb your attitude, you may sit back down. If not, you can bend over the arm of the couch and receive your first proper spanking from me."

  "I will behave." As soon as he nodded his head, Autumn sat on the sofa. She wasn't about to give him the chance to change his mind.

  "The only added rule I have for you two is that you are only allowed one drink."

  "What?" Sierra exclaimed, shock and annoyance clearly expressed on her face.

  "If you want to stay here, that is the condition, but you should know that Zander's flavor of the week is on her way out here." Sierra's eye narrowed slightly, but she nodded her agreement. Leland's attention returned to Autumn. "This isn't a play party, but everyone here is part of the lifestyle in some way or another. I don't want you to be shocked if a sub mouths off one too many times and you witness a punishment." Autumn nodded her head as a slight blush spread across her face. "Don't forget our rules, princess, and you will be just fine."

  "Yes, Sir."

  Leland turned to his sister as a smile split his face. "If you think you can deal with Zander and his latest fling, then Tabitha wants you to join her on the deck."

  "She's here?" All it required was a single nod of Leland's head, and Sierra was off the couch and headed for the back door. "Tabby!"

  "Tabby?" Autumn questioned as she walked next to Leland.

  "Tabitha's husband, Mason, is the State Fire Marshal. We have known them forever, and since Sierra came to terms with her little side, the three of them have become really close," Leland replied. "I assume she told you she was a little when you told her we were dating?"

  Autumn nodded. "I have known she was a little for a long time. I chose to keep it quiet until she decided she wanted me to know."

  "She has struggled with that side of herself for a long time. Hell, she still fights it a lot of the time, but Tabitha and Mason have helped tremendously."

  As they stepped out onto the deck, Autumn nodded toward the tall man who stood as far away from Sierra and Tabitha as he could get while still being on the deck. "Why is Zander so obviously ignoring them? And what is with the dirty looks?"

  Anger was evident in Leland's voice when he replied, "Zander was Sierra's Daddy Dom until about two months ago, when he told her it was him or them. Meaning Tabby and Mason. When Sierra refused to choose, he broke it off with her."

  "But if she isn't having sex with them, what does it matter?"

  Leland shrugged. "I don't know. Mason and Tabby live a few hours away, so when they come to town, Sierra spends as much time with them as she can. The only reason I can think of for him to be that way is that Zander doesn't like to share, so when the jealousy got to be too much for him, he lashed out and gave her the ultimatum. Sierra refused to give up people she thought of as family just because his green-eyed monster was rearing its ugly head."

  "So rather than share her non-sexually on the occasional weekend visit, he broke up with her? He's an idiot."

  "Agreed." Leland nodded as he stopped a few feet away from the other people on the deck. "The plan for the night is to sit around a fire and shoot the shit, but I need for you to let me know if you are uncomfortable with anything. It does not mean I will change or stop what is happening, but I will explain it and attempt to reassure you. If you are still overwhelmed, we will find a quiet place inside to discuss the issue."

  Autumn smiled up at him. "I trust you and your judgment to keep me safe both physically and emotionally."

  "Are you sure you want to trust him? He seems pretty shady," a woman teased from behind Autumn.

  Autumn was thrilled when she turned around to respond and saw who was asking the question. "Liv! Oh, my gosh! What are you doing here?" Liv glanced at her toes for a few seconds before she reached for the man who was talking to another couple a few feet away. When he turned around, Autumn was shocked. "Chief?"

  "We are here because my husband is very good friends with the host, and it's nice to start on the right foot when it comes to new neighbors," Liv shared as her eyes shifted about the yard in an attempt to look anywhere but at Autumn.

  "New neighbor? You guys live across the road? So, you sold Lee the house?"

  "Yeah."

  "Wait." Autumn paused, her brain had finally caught up with the conversation. "You're married to Kevin? My boss?"

  Liv at least had the courtesy to look sheepish when confronted with the truth. She tucked a strand of her shoulder-length, black hair behind her ear as her husband wrapped his arms around her middle in a show of support. "I didn't think it was a big deal when you and I first started talking. By the time I realized I should have told you, we had become close, and I didn't want you to think I had been deceitful. I didn't want to wreck our friendship."

  Autumn looked from Liv to the chief—no, Kevin—a few times. She was about six inches shorter than her husband's six-foot frame, fitting perfectly under the crock of his arm. "Tell me you kept all the names I call him to yourself."

  Liv gathered Autumn in her arms as soon as she finished talking. "I may have told him a few things, but it was absolutely no fault of my own. He is extremely persuasive when holding a looped belt in his hand."

  "My personal favorite was when you called me a 'reflective vest Nazi.'"

  Autumn groaned as she pushed her friend away to give her
a phony dirty look. "Liv! I called him that just last week!"

  "Sorry, but he knew you would have something to say after your written warning from the car crash, and as I said, he wields a mean strap." She reached back to rub her bottom with a pout on her face in an attempt to gain sympathy.

  "I know you too well, Liv." Autumn laughed. "You dangled that information in front of him and withheld it until you got what you wanted. You forget how much we've shared, which kind of makes me wonder how you kept who you were married to from me for over a year." Autumn shook her head. "But that is not the point. The point is that I know how much you love it when he uses leather on your ass, and I know he only ever uses it in play because it is not much of a deterrent for you."

  "Good try, love, but she has your number," Kevin teased his wife before kissing the top of her head.

  "You can't blame a girl for using every advantage she had."

  "Your advantage is officially cut off. From now on, I will swear you to secrecy before I tell you anything!"

  Leland butted in on the conversation before Liv could get a retort in. "Hello, Nurse Liv."

  Liv blushed a pretty shade of red as her eyes narrowed slightly. "Are you guys ever going quit calling me that?"

  "Absolutely not," her husband declared as she turned to him and ran her fingers through the speckling of gray hairs at his temple.

  Autumn stared at Leland. "Why would you tease her about being a nurse?"

  "Oh, we aren't teasing her for being a nurse. We are teasing her because when she is in nurse mode, she is anything but submissive. To anyone."

  "A few years ago, when Leland was here for a visit, Olivia had to work a 12-hour shift. As soon as she strolled in the door after work, she started barking orders at the two of us like it was nothing."

  "I never barked orders."

  "Yeah, you do," Leland interjected, an amused smile on his face as he reached back to rub his head. "You even whacked the back of my head when I didn't move my boots off your coffee table quick enough."

  "You guys exaggerate this story more and more every time you tell it."

  Giving his sulking wife an amused look, Kevin continued. "When I relieved her of her scrubs and pulled her across my lap for her well-deserved punishment, she had the audacity to lay naked over my lap and blame the whole thing on 'Nurse Liv.' I laughed so hard I nearly forgot to blister her hide. Nearly."

  "From what I have seen, if a nurse is submissive at work, she gets stomped all over and ends up hating her job. She doesn't have a switch she can flip as soon as she gets home that takes her from work mode to wife mode in the blink of an eye."

  "No, there is no switch." Kevin smirked when he heard the groan from his wife. "But making her take off her scrubs in the garage before she is allowed into the house is an excellent way to get her into her submissive mindset when she comes home."

  In a cheeky gesture, Liv stuck her tongue out at her husband. As soon as she saw the look on his face, she sucked her tongue back into her mouth.

  Kevin grabbed Olivia's elbow just as she started to backpedal. "Where are you going, girl?"

  The fact that the question was directed at someone else made no difference to Autumn; her stomach still fell to her toes at the sound of his deep, gravelly voice. Leland pulled her into his arms and anchored her in, giving her no choice but to stay put. "Don't you worry, subbie. They have been together a long time. She knew sticking her tongue out at her Dom would be an unwise decision."

  "I'm sorry, Sir." Olivia's eyes dropped to the floor, but only for a second before her Dom grasped her chin and forced her eyes to connect with his.

  "Are you allowed to be cheeky with me, Olivia?"

  "Not while I am wearing your collar, Sir."

  "Is it on that beautiful neck of yours?" He traced the beautiful gold chain in question with his index finger.

  "Yes, Sir, I'm wearing it, just like you told me to."

  "And what are the rules when you are wearing my collar and we are with people we love and respect?"

  "I am allowed to be myself, but I must still be respectful, Sir."

  Kevin clicked his tongue against the back of his teeth in a disapproving manner before he stuck his hand into his pocket and pulled out two clothespins.

  "No, Master, please!"

  "Laying it on a bit thick with the Master, aren't we, pet?" Kevin teased, even though a spark in his eyes gave away his appreciation of her efforts. "Oh, don't act surprised. You know what happens when my girl gets cheeky at the wrong time. My expectations for this relationship have never changed, love."

  "But, Sir, I—"

  "You didn't know I kept them on me? Of course not. I have to keep a few tricks up my sleeves or, rather, in my pocket." Kevin held out his hand with the clothespins in his palm. One had a yellow dot on the end while the other had a red dot. "What will it be? Are you going to wear the mean one on your tongue for four minutes? Or are you going with the yellow one for ten?"

  "Please don't make me choose, Sir," Olivia pled as she did a nervous little dance in place, her elbow still held in the man's firm grasp.

  "But making you choose your punishment is half the fun. Red or yellow?"

  "Sir, please."

  Kevin's voice lost all its previous playfulness. "Forcing me to repeat myself again would be ill-advised, sub. Red or yellow?"

  "Yellow, Sir."

  The stern man ran his hand down his wife's face in a soothing motion before he stuffed the red clothespin back into his pocket. He grabbed a thick, green cushion from a nearby chair and tossed it on the ground next to his feet. "Kneel, pet." Olivia gracefully knelt on the cushion with her butt resting on her feet and her knees spread slightly wider than shoulder width apart.

  Autumn watched as Kevin knelt in front of his wife and had a quiet, private conversation with her. "Why are we standing here watching this like a couple of voyeurs? Shouldn't we be giving them some privacy?"

  "If they needed or wanted privacy for this, he would have found some, but the knowledge and the embarrassment of knowing her friends are standing here watching the exchange between the two of them is part of her punishment. Now, sh. While we will watch their scene, we will not interrupt it by talking."

  "Stick out your tongue," Kevin commanded, already holding the clothespin open in front of his wife's face. After a quick glance at the people observing the scene, Liv lowered her eyes and slowly obeyed. Her husband gently clipped the offending object into place before he spoke again. "You are to stay in position until I come get you. To answer the question I know is tumbling around in that pretty little head of yours, no, you are not allowed to move, so you can wipe away the drool that we both know will soon be dripping down your chin. You chose to be sassy, so you deal with the consequences. Ten minutes, love."

  To Autumn's horror, Kevin straightened from his kneeling position and walked into the kitchen. "He is just going to leave her there with no way of knowing if she is okay? No protection?"

  "Autumn, this is not a club." He turned her to face the rest of the people milling around the backyard. "This is a group of friends who all trust and know each other exceptionally well. Look around, what do you see?"

  "A bunch of people lost in their own conversations."

  Autumn jumped when his hand landed on her ass. "Try again. Look closer."

  Autumn reluctantly did as she was told, and after a few seconds, his point became clear. "You're right. No one ever glances away from her for very long. They are all watching her, making sure she is all right."

  "We have known each other a long time. Kevin, as a firefighter, trusts us all with his life, but more importantly, as a Dom, he trusts us with his sub." Autumn turned to the woman who still knelt on the cushion, a trail of drool making its way down her chin. "Part of her punishment is that her Dom is not standing at her side, but she knows he would never leave her unprotected. If she were not so lost in her submission, she would see what I do."

  Autumn's gaze followed Leland's eyes to the open patio
door. There, with a glass of water in his hand, leaning against the doorframe, was Kevin, his eyes glued to his wife. "She thinks he is ignoring her, but in truth, she has all his attention and more."

  "I know you are not used to seeing scenes outside a club setting, but there is no need to worry. We all practice caution, and we don't subject our subs to anything they cannot handle."

  "Will we eventually do stuff like this?"

  "Absolutely. You become disrespectful or break any of our rules while we are someplace semi-private like this with people we trust, and I will not hesitate in the slightest to remind you of your place."

  Autumn turned around again and spoke into Leland's chest. "Thank you for making me watch and helping me to understand that a scene in a private setting like this could be so different yet so much like a scene at a club."

  Leland smiled down at her after placing a kiss on the crown of her head. "That is my job as your Dom."

  The single high-pitched beep caught Autumn's attention a few minutes later, and she turned to watch Kevin cross the deck. He knelt in front of his wife and spoke for a few seconds before removing the clothespin from her tongue. He gave her a drink of water and wiped her chin with a paper towel.

  "I'm sorry, Sir," Liv said as her husband scooped her into his arms and carried her to an out of the way chair.

  "Come on, princess, let's give them some time. When she is ready, they will rejoin the group. How about a drink?"

  "Morgan and Coke, please," she said as they entered the kitchen. She moved to the cupboard and grabbed the biggest glass she could find.

  "Whoa, pet, you are not using that colossal glass."

  The sass dripped from Autumn's every word. "You said I could have one drink. You never said what size of glass that one drink had to be in, and this is the glass I choose."

  Leland's eyebrows rose, and a crease formed between them even as a smile threatened to form on his lips. "That loophole is not going to work. Yes, I said you could only have one drink. No, I did not specify what size of the cup you were to use, but this is me telling you now that you will not use that cup."