My First Visit to a Dungeon (and Kallypso Masters Giveaway)

My guest for my special birthday party is Kallypso Masters. I met Kally during a chat and I fell in love with her voice and her characters. Then I got a chance to meet Kally, in person, during RT in Chicago. Such fun. 

Kally writes some very steamy BDSM books, but with characters who come to life on the page and make you want to know so much more about them. The first three Doms in the series are Marines and what's not to love about that? I first met Master Damián in Masters at Arms and he's spoken to me ever since, so when Kally asked which of the Masters I'd like my birthday scene with, well, I chose him. I can't wait to learn more about him in the next book in her Rescue Me series, Nobody's Perfect, due out May 31. Oh, and Kally says this is the first time she's ever revealed a scene in the dungeon at the Masters at Arms Club. What a treat! Well, maybe treat isn't the right word.

"I can do this."

Lynn opened the heavy oak door and entered the foyer of the Masters at Arms Club. After completing her paperwork and showing her photo ID to the blond at the front desk, she was shown the way to the dressing area and got ready per the instructions she'd been given in an e-mail from the club after her friend Kally booked a two-hour scene with Master Damián. 

"Happy Birthday to me.

I can do this.

Lynn removed her long flowery dress and soon replaced it with a black corset and wrap-around gauzy skirt. She wore only a thong underneath and a pair of sandals with the minimum requirement of four-inch heels, per her instructions. All of her adult life, she'd imagined what it would be like to surrender control to a man. While she hadn't made that dream come true in her bedroom, a friend had told her about an amazing experience she'd had with Master Damián Orlando here at the hottest club in Denver. 

Now it was her turn. 

Kally warned her that Master Damián was a sadist, but assured her he'd only give her as much pain as she could take and he would take seriously her hard limits list. No whips. No needles. No sex. This wasn't about sex. 

It was about surrendering control.

I can do this.

Lynn took a deep breath and walked down a short hallway into a great room where a few couples in various forms of fetish gear were standing, sitting, or kneeling. An Italian woman was chained to a center post being flogged by an equally Italian Dom. His biceps rippled as he delivered an intense and rapid beating with the soft-looking, two 16-inch floggers, one in each hand. She wondered if they were made of leather, suede, or kangaroo hide. She'd read that the 'roo hide was supposed to feel incredible. Judging by the bliss on the woman's face, whatever they were made of, she was in subspace. The Dom walked over to her and stroked her reddened back and butt. If the sub hadn't been chained by the cuffs above her head, she'd have melted into a puddle on the floor judging by the way her body collapsed and the moan that escaped her.

Speaking of puddles, Lynn felt herself getting wet just watching. 

Body heat enveloped her and she realized it wasn't hers, but that of someone who had stepped up behind her. "I didn't see flogging on your hard list. Perhaps we'll try that later."

Master Damián.

Her clit throbbed as he leaned in and whispered into her ear, "Shall we go down to the dungeon now? It's much more private. I've reserved it for our entire session."

No public scening. Another hard limit. She was pleased he would honor that request and hoped she hadn't put any club members out by taking over the dungeon for two hours, but she'd booked an early time, so things weren't quite as busy as they would be later, she was told. Still, watching this woman being flogged in a public area like this had been…hot. 

Master Damián placed a firm hand on the back of Lynn's neck and she nearly crumpled to the floor. With that simple gesture, he took control of her and led her across the room to a closed door. When he opened it, she found herself staring at two brick staircases. A wrought-iron balcony above looked like a place an inventive Dom could restrain a sub. But his firm hand guided her toward the other stairway. Down. Into the dungeon. 

The very word sent a quiver through her. Whether one of fear or excitement, she wasn't sure. 

"Breathe, querida."

Easy for you to say.

And yet she felt her body take in a deep breath, obeying his commands already. Was it his hand on the back of her neck or his voice that had done it for her? Who cared. This was what she wanted. Wasn't it?

When he opened the door, she found the room well lit, which surprised her a bit. What surprised her even more was the equipment. It looked like a weight-training room.

"It is."

Had she spoken aloud? She didn't even realize. 

"This way." 

He led her past the benches and bar bells to a closed door at the opposite end of the room. The door creaked when he opened it. Surely a little WD40 would take care of that. But she'd felt her stomach drop when the door creaked open. Somehow she thought that door was purposely unoiled, just to freak out little subbies. It certainly had done a number on her. 

I can do this.

"After you."

Lynn looked through the open door into the darkened room ahead and took another deep breath. Going from the light to the darkness also seemed rather symbolic. She'd never taken a step like this before. 

One small step for woman, one giant leap for Lynn Chantale.

Placing one foot in front of the other, she stepped over the threshold, feeling a bit like Alice after falling down the rabbit hole. She'd just entered a whole new world. The question was, how would she be changed when she left this place?

Her eyes couldn't make out anything at first, then slowly adjusted to the dark. Wall sconces gave off a bit of light from what looked like undulating flames above torches. She was mesmerized by one for a moment, then slowly began to look around as the room came into focus. The walls here were brick, as well, and the floor was…dirt? It was a cellar! She wondered why they hadn't finished it before converting it into a dungeon. But something about the earthiness of it connected to her very core. She had no doubt she was in the dungeon now.

To enhance that notion, she looked along one wall where a pair of rusty-looking metal restraints and chains reminded her of the dungeons she'd seen in old movies about prisoners in castles. Were they merely there for effect, or did anyone actually get chained to the wall?

Then she saw modern-looking leather wrist cuffs and chains on the walls as well. Ahh. That's probably what he'd use if he were going to restrain her there. But he seemed to have other plans for her. Master Damián led her past those and up to a wooden structure that reminded her of a swingset—without the swings. 

"Are you ready to surrender to me, Lynn? Totally and completely?"

I can't do this.

But her mind overruled her. "Yes, Sir."

Without another word, he took her left wrist and buckled a leather cuff on her. He did the same with the other, then slid two fingers inside each to test the tightness. "How does that feel?"

"Perfect, Sir."

"Thank you. Now, if your fingers start to tingle or you feel cramping anywhere, I want you to tell me immediately. Understood?"

"Yes, Sir."

"What's your safeword?"

"Strawberry."

"If you need to stop, just say that word and all play will end. Understood?"

"Yes, Sir."

"If you just need to take a break or renegotiate the scene, say 'Yellow.' Then we'll discuss it."

"Yes, Sir."

Without further ado, he lifted first one hand, then the other, and within seconds she was clamped onto the frame in a Y shape. Vulnerable. Exposed. 

I can't believe I'm doing this. 

Master Damian came up behind her and brushed his hands over her corset-encased breasts and abdomen as he pressed his hard body against her. Lynn's knees buckled, but the wrist restraints kept her from falling. She stood again, but gave in to his touch, the restraints, the total loss of control. 

Surrender.

She was His to do whatever He wished to do. She had absolutely no intention of stopping Him anytime soon. 

"Since you enjoyed the flogging scene upstairs, I think we'll start there to warm you up."

The soft strands of a flogger similar to the one used upstairs stroked her shoulders and arms. Then she felt a tug at her waist before her skirt puddled at her feet. Oh dear. Here we go. The flogger caressed her bare butt cheeks and she felt her face grow hot. 

"Are you ready to feel the kiss of the flogger, Lynn?"

"Oh, yes, Sir." Her breathy response surprised her. How could she be so turned on already? All He'd done was rub a flogger over her skin. 

He stood to the side.

Thump.

The first strike was a bit of a thud, across her butt. No pain. But her nipples bunched beneath her corset. He hit her again and then again and soon had worked up to a steady rhythm of thuds against her butt. Her skin there began to warm up, then He moved to stand behind her and started to flick just the tips against the skin of her butt.

"Ow!"

He didn't stop. Ow wasn't her safeword. She didn't want to speak her safeword. This felt…delicious. Just what she'd wanted. The freedom in her surrender surprised her. How could she feel so free when she was so totally under another person's control?

"Nice." He rubbed her burning butt and some of the sting receded a bit. 

"Now for something that will leave a mark for you to remember your birthday scene. Have you ever had a riding crop used on you, Lynn?"

"No, Sir." Heck, she'd never had anything used on her before. 

"Excellent. Are you ready to feel the bite, Lynn?"

"Oh, yessss, Sir."

Kally Masters here. Um, I think we've lost Lynn for a bit. I just want to thank her for being so brave to accept the birthday gift I offered and for allowing herself to get out of her comfort zone to spend part of her special day with Master Damián in the dungeon. 

As a birthday present for all her followers, I'd like to offer a free copy of Masters at Arms, my debut novel (published August 2011). This is the introduction to the Rescue Me series. My readers and I will warn you—these are NOT write stand-alone novels if you want to fully immerse yourself in this world, so it's very important that the series be read in order. These characters are so interconnected and, well, forceful that their stories cannot be contained within the confines of one book. (You'll find the couples continue to work on their relationships in later books in the series, even after their happily-ever-after or happy-for-now endings.) For your free copy, go to SMASHWORDS: and use coupon code UP84L.

I'd also like to give away a copy of one of the romances in the series (winner's choice). It can be one currently available—Nobody's Angel or Nobody's Hero—or one of the three new ones coming out this year, starting with Nobody's Perfect on May 31. Just post a comment below wishing Lynn a lovely birthday and I'll ask that she draw a winner at random on MY birthday tomorrow, April 24. Open internationally and the winner also will receive by snail mail some of my RT Convention swag—a bookmark, a set of three Romance Trading Cards for the 2011 releases, and a purple pen. BE SURE TO LEAVE AN E-MAIL ADDRESS so we can contact you for your mailing address and book-format preference!

To learn more about the Rescue Me series and new author Kallypso Masters, go to http://kallypsomasters.com. For quick buy links to all outlets selling her first three books (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, All Romance eBooks, and Smashwords), go to http://kallypsomasters.blogspot.com/p/books-by-kallypso-masters.html.