50 Shades of Drake 5 and 6

Chapter Thirty-Eight

    Destiny sat Indian-style on the bed in the master bedroom flipping through one of the many books Aubrey had reserved for her. Being a journalist, she was a fan of research, but there was so much information regarding the BDSM lifestyle, it was easy to get overwhelmed with it all. In order to break up some of the convoluted reading, she idly flipped through the pages to study the artwork included in the leather-bound book. The artwork varied from simple sketches to more complex mediums, such as oil and paint. Her brows drew together, looking at the different positions and contraptions that people from centuries before her time had come up with, all in the name of experiencing different forms of pain and pleasure.

    Aubrey exited the bathroom, drying off the back of his neck with a towel. Beads of water rolled down his arms and narrow rivulets of water streamed down his abdomen. Another towel was wrapped around his waist, but it did nothing to hinder his unadulterated masculinity. His eyes locked on her as he continued drying himself off, then lowered to the book she had in her hands. "Find anything interesting?" he asked, crossing the room and walking over to the wardrobe.

    Nothing nearly as interesting as what I have my eyes on now, she thought, her eyes tracking his every move.

    He turned his head and gave her a prompting look.

    She dropped her eyes back down to the book. "I'm...sorry, Sir, yes. I'm finding a lot of interesting things in here."

    "Good," he said, entering the wardrobe closet. "Like what?"

    She heard the subtle sound of fabric hitting the floor and knew it must be his towel dropping to the floor. Barely resisting the urge to crane his neck to catch a glimpse of him, she forced herself to flip through a few of the book pages. "I'm loving the artwork," she said, feeling like a student who'd skipped doing their homework and was trying to gloss over the fact.

    "And?" he encouraged from inside of the closet.

    "And I'm finding it interesting that people from so long ago had an interest in things like this," she added. "In some of my history classes, there was mention of orgies and experimentation, but...they really got creative."

    "When you think about it, it makes more sense for them to have developed an interest for a lifestyle like this back in those times," he said, walking out of the closet wearing a fresh pair of pajama pants. He padded over to the bed and sat down beside her. Then he held his hand out.

    She handed the book over to him.

    He licked the index and middle finger of one hand and flipped backward in the book. "Back in these times, there were royals and subjects. There was a power hierarchy a lot more defined than what we currently have set up. There were people who gave orders and people who obeyed them. With a system like that, it's only a matter of time before someone thought of a way to spin it so get some kind of pleasure or enjoyment from it. You also had peasants who dreamed of being a royal, or a person of power. It's easy to understand how they could get some form of enjoyment out of that." He looked up from the book and narrowed his eyes. "Which reminds me of something that the exotic dancer told me, the one who introduced me into this lifestyle. She said that a lot of the submissives she knew in the lifestyle where people that came from wealth and power...that the reason a lot of them enjoyed submitting so much is because it was such a different feeling than their daily lives. In their daily lives, they were used to giving orders and everyone following them. It turned them on to be the one obeying. Whereas a lot of the Dominants she knew were people who didn't come from power at all but dreamed about having it, or lusted after it." He shook his head and lowered his eyes back to the book. "Something like that."

    "Where do you fit into all of that?" Destiny asked curiously.

    He turned to look at her.

    She ducked her head down. "I guess I should've asked permission to speak."

    "Points for realizing your error," he said softly, stroking her hair. "But elaborate on your question."

    "Well...the Dominants she knew didn't come from wealth or power, but you have both."

    He smiled. "Even though I have both, I'm never satisfied with how much I have," he told her. "I'm always on a quest for more power, more wealth."

    "But..." She frowned in confusion.

    "But...?" he prompted.

    "You said you would give it all up for me, if you had to."

    His eyes softened and he tilted his head to the side. "I did say that, yes."

    "How would that work for someone who's on a neverending quest for power and wealth?"

    "It would mean that the someone is madly in love with his submissive and would do anything for her," he said simply. "That isn't to say that I wouldn't miss the power or the wealth. And it isn't to say that I wouldn't try to get it back. But I stand by what I said. I'd give it up in a second for you. No hesitation."

    She mulled over his words.

    "You're so inquisitive," he said, smiling affectionately. "I don't know why that continues to surprise me, but...it's like you're always trying to figure me out."

    "I am," she admitted.

    His smile widened. "I like that you care enough to." He stared at her intently for a moment longer, then cleared his throat and continued flipping through the book. "One thing I found interesting was the history of BDSM as it related to Africans and African-Americans. I know the reading is dense, to say the least, but once you get into it, it's easy to get addicted to reading about it. Even for people who aren't into the lifestyle themselves, there are a lot of interesting pieces of history and culture thrown in there."

    She was a fan of studying different cultures, so his words spiked a bit of interest in her. She leaned over and peered down at the book.

    He snapped the book shut and set it on the nightstand. "I want you to come with me."

    She wanted to ask "Where," but for once was able to remember her place.

    He grinned as if he knew what had transpired in her own mind. Then he stood up and extended a hand to her. "Come."