Ann Mayburn - Sodom and the Phoenix

Henry turned back to her with a much warmer smile. “In that case, I’ll leave you in Margo’s capable hands.”

Margo smiled at her, and Tanwen couldn’t help but smile back. There was something about the woman that exuded peace and happiness. It wasn’t just that she was pregnant, but that she had an almost tangible aura of kindness. Margo placed her hands on Tanwen’s shoulders and gave her a kiss on each cheek, careful not to rub her glittering belly against Tanwen’s dress. “Tanwen, I’m so pleased to meet you. My name is Margo, and my husband, Master Greg, is friends with Master Bryan. Master Bryan filled me in on this being your first time. I must say, I really admire your courage. I would never have had the nerve to come to a gathering like this alone.”

A woman in her sixties dressed in a black feathery skirt and purple corset strolled by holding a leash attached to her husband in a gray suit with a large black leather collar around his neck. Tanwen and Margo moved back against the wall next to the open doors, and Tanwen tried not to stare at the risqué outfits some of the guests wore. The ballroom was filled with elegant tables covered in black and red tablecloths and decorated with tall cut-glass centerpieces with elaborate orchid and white lilac arrangements. The flowers perfumed the air, their sweetly innocent scent a marked contrast to the sensuality filling the room.

“It is so nice to meet you, Margo. I must confess, I’m not feeling very brave at the moment.”

Margo smiled and wiggled one of her sandal-clad feet in the air. “Mind if we sit down? My feet will swell up like sausages if I’m on them for very long.”

“Oh, of course.” As she followed behind Margo, she noticed people quickly cleared a path as soon as they saw her coming. In fact, people held out hands to help as they walked by, saying quick words of congratulations, and more than one man gave her a wolf whistle. It took a bit to make it to their table as every other person they passed stopped them to congratulate Margo and her husband on the pregnancy. Margo made it a point to introduce Tanwen and add that she was a guest of Master Bryan’s. This earned her many speculative looks from the doms and some rather jealous glares from the subs.

When they finally made it to their table near the stage set up at the rear of the ballroom, Tanwen was glad to see it was unoccupied. The walk through the room full of kinky strangers had overwhelmed her, and she needed a moment to collect herself before she faced the man that had given her such an amazing experience this afternoon. She helped Margo into her seat and pulled out another chair for her. Margo put her feet up with a sigh.

Tanwen handed her a glass of water. “Make sure you stay hydrated.”

Margo tilted her head to the side and smiled. “You’re a doctor, aren’t you?”

“No, I’m an OB nurse. Why do you ask?”

“This is my third baby. You have that…” She searched for the right word and took a drink. “You have an authority about you when you are helping me, and you don’t treat me like you’re afraid that I’m going to give birth at any second.”

Tanwen laughed. “No, but I’d say you’re pretty close. Around thirty-six to thirty-eight weeks, correct?”

“Very good. We’re only an hour’s drive from my hospital, so my doctor gave me the go-ahead to come here. I don’t know what I’m looking forward to more in VR, fantastic sex or just not feeling like my hips are going to pop out of place and my feet are going to blow up. I need to ask them if I can use VR while I give birth. I’d much rather go into VR pregnant, spend some time on a tropical beach sipping an ice-cold beer, and come out to my new baby than go through labor.” Both women laughed, and Margo traced her finger on an area of her stomach not painted gold. “Master Bryan asked me to answer any of your questions about being a submissive. He said you had not been in the lifestyle very long.”

Tanwen snorted and glanced around. “By not very long he means not at all. I thought I was just coming here for the VR, but my travel agent and best friend decided to book me this week.”

“Why would she do that?”

A flush heated Tanwen’s cheeks, and she fiddled with her skirt. “I went on a post divorce cruise with her, drank too much rum, and evidently told her about some…fantasies I’d been having.”

Margo laughed. “Let me guess, she decided you were never going to do something about your desires on your own, so she gave you the gentle push of plopping you in the middle of a huge BDSM convention. How did you meet Master Bryan?”

“When I was checking in we…uh, started talking.” The lights began to dim, and all around them people took their seats. A few more people joined their table. Tanwen was introduced to a single domme named Julia dressed in a lovely cream leather catsuit who stopped by for a moment to congratulate Margo on the baby before leaving and an elderly dom and his sub wife who had to be in their eighties. In fact, he had a walker that had been cleverly decorated with black leather and silver spikes all over it.

“Thank God they’re going to feed us before the demonstrations,” Margo said and put her feet down with a groan.

“Demonstrations?”

Margo smiled and nodded at a passing couple. “Yeah, the experienced doms put on all kinds of demonstrations about different types of BDSM play and techniques after dessert. Tonight Master Paul is going to do a demonstration on different types of nipple torture, and after that Mistress Lucy is going to show different types of sensory deprivation toys and how to use them.”

“That sounds interesting.” Tanwen barely suppressed a shiver. Nipple torture certainly didn’t sound like fun, and she couldn’t ever imagine enjoying sensory deprivation. Maybe she would just skip the demonstrations and make it an early night.

“This convention is the one vacation my master and I take without our kids. I wouldn’t miss it for the world, but I really wish I had a recliner to sit in right now.”

“Do you and your husband… That is, do you… Are you like this at home?”

Tanwen jumped as a deep male voice with the same melodic accent as Margo’s said from behind her, “Only in the bedroom.”

“Master.” Margo beamed at the handsome Hispanic man who moved to her side and sat down. He had a nicely groomed goatee and wore black leather pants with a black silk shirt that clung to his lean muscles. “Tanwen, this is my husband, Master Greg.”

Tanwen automatically held out her hand. “Nice to meet you, Sir.”

To her surprise, instead of shaking her hand, he placed a kiss on the back of it. “You are new. Tanwen, when you meet a master in the confines of the conference, don’t offer to shake hands with him or her. That denotes equality, and as a submissive, you are choosing to not be equal.”

She snatched her hand back and fisted both hands in her lap. “What should I do instead?”

“Fall to your knees and worship me,” Bryan said against the side of her neck before he kissed her cheek.

Her whole body seemed to tingle as if plugged into an electric current the moment his lips touched her and the woodsy scent of his cologne enveloped her. With her heart pounding in her throat, she turned to look at him, starting at his tight black leather pants before moving to the silver bucking stallion buckle of his belt and all the way up his tight black shirt that hugged his big frame. When she finally met his gaze, she found herself seared by the heat there.

He sat down next to her and drew her hand out of her lap, forcing her tense fingers to uncurl and relax as he stroked her palm. “You look lovely, like a rose in a coal mine. I’m glad you made it.”

She tried for levity and failed when her voice came out in a husky whisper. “Well, a girl has to eat.” The muscles around his eyes tightened, and she threw in a belated, “Sir.”