Camellia Read Free Page A

did. But that would be a lie, and she had the feeling that lying to Lucy would be a very bad idea. So she went with the truth. "No, not exactly."
    "Honesty is a refreshing quality. Don't lose it. In the future, should we continue, use it often and ask for help when you need it. There is no shame in asking. Tell me now, Danny, what did you think when you watched the video?" Lucy asked, slowly walking around her as if circling.
    Danny tried not to let the predatory action bother her as she came up with an answer that was both honest but also one that she thought would please Lucy. "It was pretty."
    "But?" Lucy asked her, apparently catching the doubt in Danny's tone that she'd tried to hide.
    Knowing her cheeks were getting pink, Danny shrugged and met Lucy's gaze. "It seemed like a lot of work for a cup of tea. I mean, most people just nuke a cup of water and drop in a bag, right? Presto, instant tea."
    Lucy chuckled, but whether the sound was the result of actual happiness or if Lucy was laughing at her, Danny had no idea, and it unsettled her. She hoped it was happiness, though, since she hadn't been laughed at in years. Not since ninth grade, when she'd been told to climb the rope ladder in gym and cried when her fear of heights had caught up with her a foot off the ground.
    "If all I wanted was a cup of tea, there are faster ways to accomplish such a thing. But I find that the simplicity of the movements calms me. Each action has its own part to play, its own purpose in the ritual. Together they combine to make something beautiful, something so much more than a simple cup of tea." Lucy sounded almost wistful describing it. Danny really had no idea what she was talking about. Maybe Lucy just had far more time on her hands than anyone should. If she did this tea ceremony as often as Danny drank coffee, she must have had hours to kill each day, because she was pretty sure it took a lot of time when done correctly.
    Lucy paused in her slow circling when she was directly behind Danny's chair. "I would like to begin again and, if you're agreeable to it, I would like to give you some of the light corrections I mentioned before. I won't hurt you and you may stop me at any time. Saying no to my crop now or during the ceremony will not change the outcome of this interview, but the crop is something that will be used at the convention as we will be expected to portray some physical attributes of BDSM while we are performing. Do you understand?"
    Danny looked over her shoulder at Lucy and nodded. "Yes."
    "Are you agreeable to being corrected with the crop?" Lucy asked her.
    Danny had already thought she'd agreed to that with her previous answer, but maybe Lucy was looking for something more concrete. "Yeah." The riding crop in Lucy's hand settled against her thigh. Danny followed that movement with her eyes. "Are you going riding later?" she asked Lucy, knowing that she sounded dumb even as the words left her mouth.
    Lucy shook her head and indicated the low table. "Please remove your jacket and kneel at the table, hands on your thighs, back straight, chin parallel to the floor."
    Shrugging out of her jacket, Danny quickly moved onto her knees. The bare floor felt a bit too hard for comfort, so she started to reach for a pillow, but her hand stopped halfway toward it. "Can I use a cushion?" she asked Lucy, not entirely sure why she just didn't take it.
    Lucy nodded and gave her a small smile. "Yes, you may. And thank you for asking. I realize that you are inexperienced with BDSM on the whole, so please listen to me closely now. If at any time you feel uncomfortable during this interview, please feel free to leave. If you have any pain, either emotional or physical, you must tell me instantly. Anything less is unacceptable. Questions asked of you will be answered with either a yes or a no. Do you understand these rules as I have stated them for you?"
    "Sure," Danny replied instantly, not thinking much of Lucy's words as she got as