Own Me in the Moonlight

"Tell me you don't need to come." His teeth were near her ear, ready to bite.

"I would, Master, but I can't lie."

"True," he said. "However, if I tell you to wait until we scene again, would you do it? Would you let me take control over you?"

Rey closed her eyes. "Yes, Master."

He nestled the vibrator against her clit. "You may come now."

***

After that, Rey didn't remember much. Kylo had used the vibrator on her until she was completely wrung out. Then she'd drunk some cool water, been fed nibbles of chocolate, and lay insentient in someone's lap, while a big hand wiped her face with a warm cloth.

She opened her eyes to stare into a dark goatee, a rather round ear, and some wavy hair tickling her forehead.

"Master Kylo?" she said. Her voice sounded rusty. Her body felt heavy, languorous.

"Hmmm," his voice rumbled in his chest, vibrating against her. "Back with us, sweet Kira?"

"Yes, Sir."

He tightened his arms around her. "Our scene is over. You can call me Kylo."

Rey struggled to sit up. Kylo held her in place. "No, no. Let's talk. Just like this."

She subsided. "What's there to talk about?" Her voice came out fuzzy, like she was drunk.

He laughed gently. "Did you enjoy the scene?"

Instead of leaping to a some kind of half-assed conclusion, Rey turned the question around in her mind. Finn had been right. She'd responded more deeply to a stronger Dom, one who didn't allow her top from the bottom, one who pushed her, who was both soft and strict. And she'd gone to subspace quickly, easily, and then she'd enjoyed the most intense orgasms in recent memory.

"Yes," she said, softly, emphatically. The word didn't cover everything she wanted to say, but it was a start.

Kylo touched Rey's cheek. "I enjoyed it, too. Enough that I broke my own rules." He looked at his hand. "I'm breaking it now. I don't usually hold little subbies in my lap."

She met his warm gaze. "Why are you holding me?"

He shrugged and she felt it throughout her body. She liked being cuddled against his big, beefy chest. He was warm and breathed in her ear. "I don't know," he answered. "Just feel like it."

Rey laid her hand flat against his chest.

Kylo gave it a quick squeeze. "Next week, there's a Daddy/Mommy/Little afternoon in the Little Room down the hall. Your profile said you might be open to some age play. Care to join me?"

Age play wasn't something Rey had investigated much. The thought of going into Little space held some appeal, but she wasn't sure how deep she wanted to go.

She squirmed a bit in Kylo's arms. He released her. "I'm not interested in being too Little. I don't know how I feel about age play, to be honest."

"Fair," he said. "I've participated in some activities. It's enjoyable for me in limited doses. If you'd like to explore it, meet me here."

Rey contemplated the offer. "I can talk to my friend Rosie, who likes being a Little. I'll think about it and let you know." She paused. Club Moonlight tended to be strict about members sharing real life information. The non-disclosure agreements prohibited members from contacting each other outside the club, unless both parties agreed. Also, one did not discuss Club Moonlight activities or its members outside the club. That was a fast track to being banned. "Should I leave a message for you here?"

"Yes, let Finn know if you plan to attend. He'll notify me."

Rey pushed herself off Kylo's warm lap. "I should be going." She clutched the blanket around her. "Um, my clothes?"

"They're right here." He rose to his feet and handed Rey the neatly-folded clothing and shoes that were sitting on the occasional table nearby. "Kira, it was my pleasure."

She looked up at him. "Well, technically, it was only mine, but..."

Kylo's grin reappeared. He chuckled. "True. Totally worth it, though, sweetie."

Rey stood in front of him, wondering how to complete the conversation. She wanted to hug him or kiss him or climb him like a tree. His face was lit up with a charming, dimpled smile. He looked her in the eye.

"I look forward to next time." He nodded at her, clasped her shoulders for a moment, then walked down the hall away from the main area. He tossed his jacket over his shoulder and put one hand in his pocket.

Rey got a good look at his long legs and tight butt as he left. She would give a lot to see him naked, though few Doms ever took off their clothes unless they were in a steady relationship. Rey didn't think Master Kylo was the relationship type. A pity.

Chapter 3

It was the following Monday during a Theater Department faculty meeting that Rey remembered where she had seen Master Kylo before. She was there, in part, to discuss internships for her graduating Costume Design students. In their senior year, students were required to assist in creating costumes for a production outside the department. As director of the costume shop, Rey helped students find suitable places to intern.

The Theater Department chair, Dr. Amilyn Holdo, pushed her vivid lavender hair back behind one ear. "We have the contract well in hand, Rey. Hanna City Youth Theater's director has agreed to offer your students their intern experience. He's got a play in production and could use some assistance. In fact, I confirmed it with him this morning. He's most willing and said the students could take the lead, since he only has one designer on staff."

Rey resisted the urge to rub her hands together in glee. "That's great," she said. "Who's the director?" She couldn't remember, since the Youth Theater directorship rotated frequently. A fleeting memory flashed through her mind, even as Dr. Holdo slid a copy of "Hanna City Happenings" magazine across the table and tapped the page. The gentleman in question had been profiled recently there. Glancing at the article, Rey remembered that she'd read it before. The director's name had been unfamiliar, but she'd found his photo compelling. He had thick dark hair, a piercing stare, and... full lips.

Everything clicked into place. Rey stared at the photo in horror, unable to formulate even one coherent thought.

"New fella," Amilyn continued. "He just returned to Hanna City from Coruscant last year." She looked up. "Ah, here he is. He agreed to stop by and chat about terms."

Rey turned in her seat just in time to see her tall Dom stroll through the door. She almost groaned out loud. Of course. Of course, he was here. He wore a button-down white shirt tucked into belted black chinos, sleeves rolled to his elbows. A pair of black and white Jordans completed his outfit. As he strolled toward them, hands in pockets, his shirt buttons strained against his wide chest, which had Rey wondering if she herself would blow apart, pop free, and roll around on the floor. Slowly, she rose from her seat as he scanned the assembled faculty. She saw his eyes widen when his gaze fell on her, but he covered his surprise well. Chin raised, she looked him dead in the eye.

Amilyn rose as well. "Ben! Here you are. Welcome. Rey Johnson, meet Mr. Ben Solo, director of the Hanna City Youth Theater."

He stuck out his giant paw: the hand that had pinched her nipples, the hand that had wielded a crop on her thighs, the hand that fed her chocolate after she came so hard she almost fainted.

Rey shook the wide palm and attempted to stop the flush that crept up her neck and into her cheeks. "Mr. Solo."

"Ms. Johnson." His voice held a thread of amusement.

She pulled her hand out of his as if she'd been burned. "Please call me Rey."

"Call me Ben." He dipped his head. A soft wave of dark hair fell against his lean cheek. Rey's mouth went dry when he shoved it back, threading his hair through his thick fingers. She closed her eyes and prayed for strength.

Throughout the meeting, Rey could only focus on the sound of Ben's voice, the way his succulent lips moved, and the shivery memory of his mouth on her breasts, her begging him to suck her clit. They locked eyes, repeatedly. At the end of their discussion, she had little memory of what had been decided. Only that her Costume Design students would be working on the Youth Theater's production of a children's book called Frog and Toad something something. She held her breath, when Ben said it was nice to meet her and she replied... something. His lips twitched and, before she could say anything else, he winked at her.

She didn't know whether to be flattered, horrified, or turned on. Maybe she was all three.

What happens in Moonlight, stays in Moonlight. Or not.

***

When she returned to the empty costume shop, Rey slammed the door, dialed Finn and started squealing immediately.

He told her to calm down. "What the fuck is going on?"

"Kylo was here." She almost whispered it, afraid the man was going to walk through the door.

Long silence.

"Finn?"

"Yeah."

"What the fuck do I do? He and I are going to be kind of, basically, working together."

Finn sighed. "Nothing. We don't discuss Moonlight outside the club. You just keep on-"

"Pretending I don't know him? Pretending he didn't make me come so hard I nearly passed the fuck out?"

"Whoa. Sounds like a good time. You like him, don't you?"

Rey gripped the phone tighter. "Now is not the time to gloat. And I don't know about this NDA Moonlight shit. You and I are talking about this situation outside the club."

"We're friends. We already know each other. Not everyone wants to be involved outside the club-some members want to remain anonymous. Like Kylo."

Rey laughed, rather indelicately. "Well, that ship sure has sailed. I knew I recognized him. He's the fucking-"

"Shhhh, shhhhh. I'm not discussing him and his outside life with you. It's against the whole NDA thing."

Rey groaned. "He knows my real name and I know his."

She could almost hear his shrug. "You have to keep his secret and he'll keep yours." Finn paused. "You coming to the Little Room on Saturday afternoon? Master Kylo requested you, but he said you weren't sure."

Rey pinched the bridge of her nose. "I should just cut it off now before this gets even weirder."

Finn snorted. "Oh, come on." His voice took on a pedantic tone. "We who are in the Lifestyle live like this all the time. We see people we know and pretend not to know. You're a grown-ass woman and you can keep it separate, like the rest of us do. You think anyone knows about me being the subbiest of subs with my Dam Dom? You know what he does for a living."

In addition to being a club owner, Finn's husband Poe Dameron was a high-ranking city politico, which had astonished Rey when she first met him. She'd seen his photo on the news many times. Though neither Finn nor Poe was in the closet regarding their sexual preference, they didn't advertise their connection to the BDSM lifestyle. It was a guarded secret and no one had ever outed them for being in a D/s relationship.

Rey thought the whole thing was pretty risky for both of them, but it wasn't her life, and from all appearances, Finn simply managed an exclusive, members-only country club. The name Club Moonlight didn't appear anywhere on the front-facing establishment. If only Rey could compartmentalize as well as Poe and Finn, she'd be all set.

***

"I'm a grown-ass woman." Rey repeated that sentiment to herself daily as she settled into making sure her senior students were planning the Frog and Toad costumes. She kept feeling like she'd fallen into an alternate reality, where her submissive sexual desires were seeping into her hard-won professional existence-and she was desperately spackling over all the cracks. Instead of stopping by the Youth Theater's costume shop herself, as she usually did when with new internships, she sent her students to make costume pitches and show drawings and swatches to Ben Solo and his company. If anyone thought it was odd that she didn't come to the theater, they didn't say anything. Rey decided she was giving her students the experience of being in charge of costumes from start to finish. Anyway, that's how she rationalized it to herself. It would be good for them to take the lead without her breathing down their necks. She'd just stay out of it. A small voice in her head called her a coward as she lay in bed at night, dreaming of a certain Dom's amber brown eyes and lips that quirked with amusement. The thought flitted through her head, taking on his deep, honeyed tone, "You know that's not why you stay away, subbie." In her mind's eye, he raised his eyebrows and shook his head, sadly, a little wicked gleam in his eyes, as if he had plans to make her pay for hiding from him. She growled at her fantasy and punched her pillow.

On Friday afternoon, Rey combed through the work that had been done along with the latest version of the script. She read the notes scrawled in a bold hand and guessed it was the hand that fed her. She couldn't remember if it was the same handwriting she'd seen on her card at the club as she chewed her lip and stared at it.

A knock on the open door drew her attention.

He-Ben or Kylo-stood in the doorway big as life in a pair of soft jeans and a blue button down, sleeves rolled up. His arms looked particularly muscular, hands especially big, fingers long and thick. The buttons shifted uneasily in their holes when he leaned one shoulder against the doorframe.

"Hi," Rey gulped. She slapped the script closed.

"Hi, yourself," Kylo-Ben-replied. "May I come in?"

Rey waved a hand, trying for a casual gesture. "Sure, why not?" Her voice squeaked slightly.

"Are you avoiding me?" He placed his hands on the big work table.

"Whatever gave you that idea?" Rey walked around to the other side of the table.

"You just put this big table between us." He tapped the surface with a finger.

"It's my room." She clutched the script. "I'll stand where I like."

He inclined his head. "Sure, but that's not the question. Are you avoiding me?"

"Yes, of course I'm avoiding you. What the fuck?" She slapped the script on the table and gathered up some of the drawings to fiddle with.

"It's not necessary. I'm not your Dom here."

Rey flew around the table. "Oh my God. Keep your voice down." She shut the door. "I thought we weren't supposed to talk about that stuff outside the club."

His dark brows came together in a frown. "Okay, that's fine." He gestured. "Nobody's here, and I still need to know if we're meeting up tomorrow or are you fucking chickening out?"

"Shut the hell up," Rey hissed. "I don't discuss... my... the, you know, that here. This is my job."

"And it's mine, too," he shot back. "Who the fuck cares what we do in our private lives?"

"I'm not a full-time..." Rey waved her hand. "You know."

"Submissive?" he supplied.

Rey blanched.

"I'm not a full-time Dom." He gritted out the word with great emphasis. "Now, are you showing up tomorrow? Or are you ditching the Lifestyle because you're too afraid I'll out you or some shit?"

"I'm not afraid of that." Tears rose up in Rey's eyes.

"What, then?"

She blinked hard. "I'm fucking embarrassed. You know my real name. You know where I work. You know I want you to..." She couldn't finish.

He sighed and raked a hand through his hair. "You know the same about me, sweetie." He shook his head. "What kind of man wants to beat on a submissive woman?"

"What kind of woman wants him to do it?" Rey felt exhausted. "I tried vanilla. It was okay. But then I did this..." She trailed off, unable to think of a way to describe what she liked.

"And it was so much better," Ben finished.

Rey nodded. She still hadn't come to terms with how much she enjoyed the power exchange. "I'm a fucking freak."

He held up a hand. "Welcome to the club. Card-carrying member."

"Did Finn send you?"

Ben looked down his nose at her. "Now, you know I'm not going to tell you that. Ask Finn."

She shrugged. "Doesn't matter. I already know he did. I'll yell at him later. He told me he didn't know who you are, but I bet you he does. He knows we're working together."

Ben digested that information for a moment. "Finn is trustworthy and wants the best for you. As do I. I'm not here to embarrass you, but you've been in the Lifestyle long enough to know that being open and honest is important. We should talk about working together." He indicated the table.

"Sure, sure," Rey muttered. "It's ok, I'm good. I'll get my bearings. Just not used to it... spilling over." She picked up her water bottle and then almost dropped it on the table. Ben snatched up before it fell.

"I get it. I'm not used to it either, but we can make it work." He set the bottle down on the table, away from the important papers. "Most people compartmentalize."

Rey straightened her back. "Right. Colleagues here and-" She lost her train of thought-or perhaps didn't want to say it out loud.

"And?" His lips pursed as he tried not to smile.

"And, nothing," Rey said primly. "We're what we are at the club. You know."

He laughed. "If you can't say it, how can we do it?"

"Maybe I don't want to talk about it here, thanks. In my costume shop."

Ben glanced around the room at the well-stocked shop, with sewing machines, a serger, dummies, stacks of patterns, bolts of fabric, thread, and much more. "It's an impressive shop, Rey. I've heard you're a top-notch designer and an excellent professor. I'm not here to denigrate you or your professional abilities-or shit on your hard work. I respect you as a professional and a person. That has nothing to do with how we interact at the club. You know that, right?"

Rey bit her lip. In fact, even though she was fairly new to the Lifestyle, she did know that. At the club, it was all about play: power exchange play, sexual play, in a safe, consensual environment with a man she was beginning to trust. That didn't come easily to her. On the other hand, she'd worked too hard to allow sexual desire to fuck up her career.

She looked at him. "Right. You're right. I got a little unnerved by meeting you on the outside in a professional capacity."

"Which can remain completely professional. I'll be a Dom at the club and a colleague here." He held up his hands in a gesture of surrender.

"Agreed." Rey relaxed her grip on the edge of the table. "Though your dominance tends to slip out no matter where you are."

Ben grinned at her. "Sorry."

"I don't think you are." But she smiled at him as he chuckled.

"Yes, Dominance is me. And you'll be a...what now?" He cupped one big ear. He was going to make her say it out loud.

Rey rolled her eyes. "A submissive." She emphasized each syllable.

"Good girl. No hiding from me anymore. You have an issue? I want to know about it and we can talk it out." He gave her a stern look. "Did you talk to Rosie about the Little Room?"

"No."

He stepped forward and clasped Rey's shoulders. He hadn't tried to touch her throughout their conversation, for which she was grateful. She shivered, wanting more, so much more.

"Figures," he muttered. "Damn subbie's got to do things the hard way. All right." His voice changed. Dom-mode. Silky, yet demanding. "Look at me."

Not a request; yet, Rey obeyed without question, even though technically they were way beyond the confines of the club. She couldn't help herself.

She looked up into knowing amber-brown eyes and the slight frown he wore when he was issuing commands. "Bring your peachy ass to the club tomorrow. Dress appropriately for play and bedtime. Feel free to be whatever age you like. We're going to try this. Understand?"

Rey pressed her lips together and considered mutiny. Ben's eyes narrowed and he gave her a shake.

"You're planning to make me spank you again, little one? I have a hairbrush with your name on it."

"And if I don't show up?" She had to ask, just had to, even though she wanted to meet him there, to try being a Little.