The Masters of Falcon's Fantasies [BDSM Menage Fantasies 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) by Cassidy Browning

older than she was.
    “What do you do?” Her voice snapped him out of his self-accusatory thoughts. He fixed his gaze out at the ocean as he debated how to answer.
    “I’m a pilot,” he said finally. “Or I used to be.”
    “Used to be? What happened?”
    “I—haven’t wanted to fly for a while.”
    “Why?”
    She really was like a child, he thought. But there didn’t seem to be any harm in talking to her. He hadn’t been willing to talk about this yet . M aybe it would be good for him.
    “My wife died. That pretty much took away my enjoyment.”
    “Of flying?”
    “Of everything.”
    She was silent for a minute. Then she rolled over to her side, facing him. “I can’t imagine getting tired of flying. But that’s not really what I was talking about. I meant, what do you do that’s kinky? Isn’t that why you’re here?”
    He was startled enough to look down at her. There was a look of complete innocence and curiosity on her face. It might have been that she was too self-centered to care about his problems, but he didn’t think so. There was a matter-of-factness to her, a simple acceptance of the world as it was—including death and loss and grief. Maybe that was better than the stock expression of sympathy that most people would have offered. He’d had his time of grieving, and now it was time to get back to who he was and what his life was about. And if the center of his life was gone, he was going to have to find another center. It sounded harsh, but it was true. Coming here was his acknowledgement that it was time to pick his life back up.
    He took a breath, forcing his mind back. It seemed like decades since he’d even thought about BDSM, or what he liked, or even what he’d done. He wasn’t sure he could answer her question. But he made himself start talking anyway.
    “No, it’s not really why I’m here. I’m here to see if I’m ready to live again. But to answer your question, I like D/s—dominance and submission,” he said finally. “I like the kind of intense connection that is possible when a submissive puts herself in my hands. It’s a lot of work, and requires an enormous amount of communication, but when the connection is strong, there’s nothing like it in the world.”
    “Hmm. I can see how it would be good for you , but what about the woman? What does she get out of it?” There was a slight teasing note in her voice, but Decker ignored it.
    “If the D ominant does his job right, she gets a feeling of security, of being loved, cherished, valued , and protected. Many submissives enjoy service—having their own responsibilities, being held accountable for them, and knowing that their efforts are recognized and appreciated. The Master/slave dynamic is often used as a tool for personal or professional growth. It becomes almost a spiritual connection when two or more people are working together for a common goal, in a structured and negotiated arrangement, where everyone knows their role and their position.”
    There was silence for a minute, then Daphne turned to him, her face serious. “Okay, but how does that fit in with the kinky sex stuff, the beatings, all of that?”
    Decker laughed. It shocked him to realize that he couldn’t remember the last time he’d done that. Daphne didn’t share his laughter, but she didn’t look offended by it, either. She simply watched him, as if it were a perfectly normal reaction.
    “We usually call it a flogging instead of a beating, but that aside, it’s a very complicated question,” he said finally, wiping his eyes a little. He wasn’t sure why it had struck him as so funny, but something had loosened inside him, just a little. “On the surface they appear to be strongly connected. But when you dig down to the core of it, they’re completely separate things. There are many, many people who enjoy D/s for its own sake and don’t mess around with pain or other stimul i , although some of them like bondage for the psychological