Page 73 of Love Unlimited

Dustin headed back inside the house, and Zhong gave Ash the last bite of melon.

I love you, he told Ash, savoring the last bit of puppy time together.

Puppy Ash pawed at his hands, but they seemed to understand that just fine.

Chapter 11

Landon

“Any questions?” Landon asked the crowd of eager faces. This wasn’t his usual crew of middle-schoolers, but he still loved the thrill of teaching.

A woman near the front raised her hand. “How do I know if a crop is too stiff or too springy?” Between his hearing aids and the reminders for people to talk clearly, he didn’t have any trouble understanding her.

Landon chuckled, nodding toward the much larger man sitting on the folding chair next to her. He’d met them at the munch a few months before. “I think you’ll have to ask your sub about that… How much can he take?”

That got a good laugh from everyone, and the man blushed adorably. Since Landon was signing and speaking simultaneously, the question was a lot more graphic. Even hearing folks, who were most of the audience, would see the teasing expression that went with the question.

“Seriously, though. It’s the same as with any other toy. Try it on yourself. Slap your own thigh with a few different levels of force. More springy–” he paused to hold up the black riding crop and flexed it to show the curve “–means more impact and more sting. More stiff–” he picked up the other one to demonstrate, then tucked it under his arm “–can be gentler. Stiffer also means easier to control, and probably better if you’re trying it for the first time.”

Nods of understanding swept through the audience.

Landon casually swung the less flexible brown crop as he considered what else to say. He was trying hard not to look too much toward the back row. Ash, Dustin, and Zhong had all come out to watch him present, which was both sweet and a bit weird, since for Ash and Dustin it was clear they were only here to support him. They knew all this stuff, though Zhong was taking careful notes. Just watching him made Landon smile, since he was pretty sure Zhong was never going to use that knowledge directly.

This was a basic info session that he ran at Escape every few months without really thinking about it. What was different was the way that Ash and Daddy were both watching him swing the toy. Ash’s lips were parted, like they were thinking something naughty. And Daddy’s eyes widened every time he picked up a new implement.

With a will, Landon focused on the rest of the group. “I should mention that getting a few lower impact toys for your collection is still a good investment, even if you think you’ll eventually want something harder. That gets back to the principle of warming things up and getting the nerves ready. You can use both in the same scene to layer on the effect.” He placed the crop on the table next to the other toys. “Other questions?”

A younger man covered in piercings and tattoos raised his hand, and Landon gave him a nod to go on. “OK, this might sound weird. But you said something earlier about whipping someone while they were giving oral sex. Like as a punishment if they’re not doing it right?” His ears were going red, but he continued. “So, um… what if they bite or something?”

Only years of teaching twelve-year-olds let Landon keep a straight face. It was a good question. It was just that the squirmy embarrassment of the tough-looking guy was adorable.

“So first, honest answer… I bit a guy once.” That was a horribly literal sign, one hand biting another, and he cringed as he made it.

Landon watched as a wave of winces and chuckles spread through the group. Dustin’s wince was especially fierce. Zhong was dying of laughter; he always seemed to think sex organs were funny.

“To be fair, he surprised me. And I didn’t bite him that hard. But giving a blowjob to a person with a penis always has that risk. Like anything else, you talk about it first. Giving a sub a warning that they’ll be punished if their teeth make contact could keep their focus on it.” He paused for effect. “And also make sure that they’re not surprised when a sharp smack just comes out of nowhere.” He smacked one finger with his other hand and showed his surprise, earning him another laugh. “It also might be something that one of the partners isn’t comfortable with, in which case you do something else.”

The man nodded, looking at least a little more comfortable. Landon wondered if he anticipated being the whip-er or the whip-ee in that scenario he described. You never could tell just by looking.

“Any more questions?” Landon looked around, but no one raised a hand. He always ran his sessions so that people could interrupt with questions any time, so there usually weren’t too many at the end. “In that case, thanks for coming to Floggers, Whips, and Crops, Oh My! You can see the schedule for the upcoming events posted on the bulletin board by the door and on our website. I believe my very talented friend Lisa is doing a bondage demo next week at this time. And please come up to get a feel of any of the toys on the table.”

There was the usual low, buzzing noise and mouth movements that came at the end of something like this. Landon figured that at least a few people were thanking him or telling him he’d done a good job, but without any of them catching his attention first, it was impossible to make out, so he didn’t really try. He just nodded at people when they looked at him, returning their compliments with a smile.

He answered a few more questions as people milled around the table. A few more adventurous souls slapped some of the implements against their own thighs, chatting with friends or partners.

He was pleased to see Zhong come up to the table, too, with his notebook. He carefully worked his way down the table, testing out anything that wasn’t in use with a tap against his hand.

Landon felt a kind of glowing fondness.

When Zhong reached the end of the table, he turned back to Landon. Thanks for letting me come to this. I learned a lot.

Of course. Was there anything that you wanted to ask or talk about? It was a relief to switch back to ASL. SimCom took a lot more work, and it was always a strain to speechread.

Zhong considered, his head dipping down toward his notebook on the table, then rising again. Landon found it endearing how sometimes just knowing the journal was there seemed to help Zhong sift through his thoughts.

No questions yet. I mostly appreciated you describing how all of these feel on your body. I’d read about the endorphins, but I think I’m understanding better how the mix of adrenaline and oxytocin can work together to produce a high, and what that’s like.

Landon grinned. Of course, the brain chemistry was the first thing Zhong connected to. But Landon was a kind of chemistry nerd himself. If you’re curious, I’ve actually got some articles about how the different neurotransmitters, that’s dopamine, adrenalin, serotonin, and oxytocin, all build in different ways during different types of scenes.