Sasha was totally mesmerized by the next scene in front of her when someone touched her bare shoulder, making her twist around to find a hard male chest invading her personal space. She lifted her gaze to find a man smiling. “Master Pierson wanted me to check on you. Said you’re new here.”

She nodded. “I am. Thank you.”

He glanced at the spanking scene and back at her. “You’re intrigued. Have you ever been spanked before?”

She shook her head rapidly. “No. I… Uh… No,” she stammered.

“You want to experience it? I’d be happy to give you a demonstration if you’d like.” He lifted a hand to shake hers. “Master Colin.”

“Sasha.” She shook his warm hand, still trying to wrap her mind around his suggestion. Did she want him to spank her? Lord, she’d only been at the club half an hour. Was she ready for something like that?

Her heart had only moments ago stopped beating out of her chest from witnessing the previous scene with the crop. The spanking scene was far more her speed. At least to watch. There was a difference between witnessing and participating, though.

He didn’t say anything else, clearly giving her time to consider the option. He was handsome. Thirty-something. Five ten maybe. Brown hair cropped short. He wasn’t wearing fetish clothing, but instead blue jeans and a black T-shirt. Harmless.

She hadn’t come to Breeze with any particular expectations, but now that she was presented with the opportunity to try something new, she decided to grab it. You only live once. “Sure. I, uh… I’d like that.”

His smile grew, and he took her elbow and led her from the scene.

She was nervous. Very nervous. But as she glanced around, she spotted the club monitors in several corners of the room. Faith was following her with her gaze and nodded. There was no reason to be concerned. Besides, if Master Pierson sent Master Colin to check on her, she had to assume he was well vetted. She was safe. She blew out a breath and tried to calm her nerves.

Master Colin led her across the room toward a St. Andrew’s cross, the giant wooden X looming larger than life. When they arrived, he slid his hands to her hips from behind and encouraged her to step closer.

She bit her bottom lip and closed her eyes, trying to gather courage.

Master Colin eased his hands up her sides and then her arms as he lifted them gently into the air. He set them on the cross and tapped her wrists. “Don’t move,” he whispered. She lifted her gaze to watch him remove a peg from higher up the wood and reinsert it at the level of her hand. He did the same on the other side and then spoke again. “Grab the pegs, Sasha.”

She did as instructed, acutely aware of her chest rising and falling, hoping her nipples remained covered by the front of the corset.

“Now relax. I can sense you’re a newbie. I’m not going to restrain you physically. Instead, I want you to hold on to the cross on your own. Understand?”

“Yes, Sir.” The word came out naturally.

“Any time you scene with someone, whether or not you know them, always use a safeword. I’m partial to red. Okay?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Perfect. Relax, Sasha. I’m not going to hurt you. This is just a demonstration. If you like it, you can ask someone to spank you harder next time. For tonight, I’ll strike you lightly so you can experience the way it feels to have a hand on your bottom.”

She nodded.

“Breathe, Sasha,” he whispered close to her ear. “Deep breaths.”

She tried, concentrating on inhaling and exhaling.

Meanwhile Master Colin stroked her skin.

She closed her eyes again, leaning her forehead against the cross. She didn’t know this man. It seemed crazy to let a stranger touch her like this. But since her stubborn brother wouldn’t let her play with the people she knew, she needed to suck it up.

Her mind wandered as Master Colin’s fingers glided up and down her arms and then across her bare shoulders. She enjoyed the calming strokes, but couldn’t focus on the person touching her. Instead, she found herself picturing someone else in his place.

Lincoln.

She wished she could think of anyone else on earth stroking her skin, but as usual, Lincoln filled her fantasy. He had for years. Five of them. Every time she closed her eyes and touched herself, she pictured Zodiac’s owner controlling her.

It was irrational. After all, he didn’t even like her. Sure, he’d eventually warmed enough to glance her way and grunt at her on occasion, but he obviously didn’t care for her as anyone other than his friend’s little sister. Perhaps his lack of interest was what attracted her to him. Call her crazy, but maybe visualizing Lincoln was safe.

Because it would never happen.

He was an apparition. A fantasy. Not someone real. A sexy body. A stern domineering face. Nothing else. Two-dimensional.

When Master Colin’s hand smoothed down the fabric covering her butt, she gritted her teeth. Could she do this? She wanted to. She needed to experience new things.

“You okay, Sasha?”

“Yes, Sir,” she murmured.

“I’m going to spank you now. Easy. It won’t even leave a pink mark.”

“Okay, Sir.” She braced herself, trying to remain loose and probably failing.

When his hand landed on the upper swell of her butt, she blew out a breath. It wasn’t bad. In fact, it didn’t hurt at all.

“You okay?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“More?”

“Yes, please, Sir.” She wasn’t sure she liked it, but she wanted him to continue.

Master Colin set a hand on her shoulder and gave her two more quick swats to the same spot on her upper cheeks.

She exhaled, finding the spanking to be oddly boring.

His hand moved lower next, and he swatted her bare thighs, harder, but not hard enough to hurt. When he rubbed the backs of her legs, she tried not to move. She wasn’t aroused. She wasn’t sure she even liked him touching her like that. She didn’t know him, and his touch felt almost clinical. She was floating, sort of detached, as if she were watching instead of experiencing.

“More?” he asked, his lips close to her ear.

“Yes, Sir,” she whispered. She had no idea why she consented to continuing this scene, but she forced herself to stay in the moment. If she didn’t, how would she know what she liked?

Master Colin touched the bottom of her skirt with the tips of his fingers and slowly eased it up her butt cheeks. She pursed her lips, willing herself to let him continue.

When he had the bottoms of her globes exposed, he spanked her bare butt with his other hand.

Sasha yelped and jumped backward, releasing the cross.

“Sasha?” His voice was far away.

Panic filled her. It was hard to explain. It had nothing to do with the spanking. It was something else.

She couldn’t face him. In fact, she was afraid she might fall in her high heels as she fled without glancing back. Unease crept up her spine as she rushed to the right of the cross and slammed straight into the hard chest of another man.

She set her hands on the man’s pecs and shoved, needing to escape the room and her embarrassment. What was wrong with her?

She lifted her gaze, expecting to find a monitor or the owner in her space, but instead, the breath whooshed from her lungs, her eyes going wide. “Lincoln?”