Venus Desiring Teaser

Here's a snippet from Venus Desiring... getting a look at Liam at work and who he is. I have to say, I like Liam a lot, despite the fact that he's not the kind of Dom that usually turns me on. I like stories with Doms who are into bondage and restraints, whippings and hard spankings, and Liam is a much gentler Dom in some ways but he's also a lot more demanding. It's an interesting and challenging perspective to write from and I'm definitely enjoying it.

The section that I chose for today's teaser actually has nothing to do with Stronghold or Hilary, it's pure Liam.  If anyone who knows more about Kung-Fu / martial arts / sparring spots any mistakes / misrepresentations please let me know. As much as I researched for writing this scene, it's not something I have any first hand experience with so I certainly wouldn't mind feedback from anyone who does.

I hope you enjoy!

Sitting on a mat in the exact center of the Kung-Fu school that he'd started and now owned, Liam breathed in a steady meditation pattern, all of his senses calm but alert as the slight ripples of air caused by the vents passed over his skin.  He liked to meditate before any of the brown or black sash classes, but especially before the class with all of his friends in it.  They were all proficient in the solo forms, but tended to prefer having classes in the sparring firms.  There was something to be said for the release of sparring with each other, completely different from the release that they found at Stronghold, but just as important in its own way.  

Emptying out his mind and relaxing his body beforehand helped him to focus. He always invited his friends to join him in his pre-class ritual, but they rarely came.  Which was why he owned the dojo and they just attended classes. The amount of discipline and time involved for him to stay on top of his game, where he wanted to be, was much greater than any of his friends would be willing to put in.   He'd also never had such a hard time meditating. Normally he was able to slip into the peaceful state with ease, enjoying the focus on his body and the cleansing of his mental facilities.  Of course, he'd never had such a frustrating evening at Stronghold as he had the night before. And there was no one to blame but himself. Maybe he really should consider dating a vanilla girl.  

Hilary immediately came to mind before her pushed her out again.    

He was pretty sure that he'd royally pissed her off by challenging her at Adam's Labor Day party.  And he didn't like to date friends of friends. Or friends of friend's girlfriends.  It was just asking for trouble if, when, things didn't work out.  

Taking in a deep breathe, Liam let it out on a slow seven count until his lungs were completely empty.  Footsteps echoed down the hallway outside, heading to the dojo from the locker room and he mentally blessed the interruption.  Opening his eyes he looked up to see Adam standing in the doorway. The muscular blonde cocked his head as he looked Liam over.  

"You look like shit," he said baldly.  

"Thanks," replied Liam, his voice dry.  

"Late night last night?"  

"Yeah, but not for any good reason.  How was the newbie?" Liam stretched, let himself roll back and then kipped up to his feet in a flash of movement.   The nice thing about Adam was that he usually knew exactly what someone was asking even when they didn't say it.  It was also a little scary how well he could read people, but it was why he was trusted with so many of the newbies who wanted an introductory scene to the club. All of Patrick's friends took turns with it, but Adam probably did more than his fair share.  

"Too curious for you even if she didn't enjoy a higher level of pain than you'd want to give and a bit of a brat."  

"Sounds like your kind of girl," Liam mused. Adam shrugged noncommitally.  As far as Liam could tell the other man wasn't all that interested in finding a sub that would fit into his regular life as well.  There were plenty of subs who were compatible with his needs, and even more who wanted to play with him at the club, but Adam hadn't found one that he liked outside of the bedroom.  He didn't want a brat, he said, he just wanted someone who would challenge him, right up  until he handcuffed her, spanked her hard and fucked her brains out. Personally Liam just thought Adam made impossible standards because he didn't feel like settling down yet.  

"She won't have a problem finding a good Dom," Adam said as he settled down onto the floor to stretch.  Liam joined him, loosening up his muscles after sitting still for so long. 

It wasn't long before Patrick, Justin and Jared wandered in as well.  Andrew was the only one that Liam was really expecting that hadn't shown up, but if he'd had a late night with the sub at Stronghold last night then he might not come.  And if Justin showed up without Chris that meant there was no way Chris was coming. The two of them were practically living with Jessica at this point and Chris' absence meant that the other man hadn't been able to get him out of bed.

He made them all stretch out a bit, although not as much as he’d done on his own before they arrived.  As they loosened their muscles and started on their kata - forms - the energy in the room slowly and subtly shifted. All of them were becoming more alert, more in tune with their bodies. And most antsy, in the way that a room full of dominant men will, especially because Liam found himself in a more challenging mood than he often did.

At the end of the hour he was itching to do something more physical than forms.

“Spar?” he asked, in hopes that one of them might take him up on it.

“Spar,” Patrick immediately answered, stepping forward with an air of relief.  The big man towered over Liam and he felt his blood hum with anticipation.  The other men in the room grinned and began talking quietly, probably placing bets. Although they all enjoyed sparring, it was rare that anyone would jump into a match with Liam.

“Adam, referee?”

“No problem,” said the blonde man, grinning amiably.  If their friends were setting bets then someone would need to keep track of the hits and points.

Despite being the shortest of their group of friends, Liam was more than a match for any of them. Including the biggest of the bunch, which Patrick undoubtedly was. The club owner was taller, stronger and had a longer reach than Liam; but Liam was faster, had better balance and was damn good at getting under Patrick’s guard.  Plus, owning the dojo did give him a bit of an edge since he worked out more than any of them.

Balancing on the balls of his feet, Liam took a good hard look at his friend. Patrick looked… frustrated.  There were hints of circles under his eyes, despite his dark skin, which said he hadn’t been sleeping that well.  A tension in the way he held himself that a normal class hadn’t been able to work out.

In short, he looked an awful lot like Liam felt.

A wash of calm slid through him as they faced each other and saluted each other.  Some people might find it strange that violence calmed him, but sparring took the same kind of focus and control that a scene at Stronghold would and it relaxed him in the same way. The tension that he’d been feeling for weeks was finally dissipating. Why hadn’t he had a sparring match sooner?

He and Patrick flowed towards each other, half-circling but always moving forward.  Neither of them were in the mood to try to toy with the other, they both wanted the contact. 

Patrick’s leg lashed out and Liam easily blocked it, sweeping it to the side as his hand lashed out towards Patrick’s midsection. The big man spun away, quickly for someone of his size, but Liam was faster and he followed with a kick that landed in the meat of Patrick’s thigh muscle.  During a competition match that wouldn’t be allowed, but here in his own dojo, with his friends, they would spar full contact, except for head shots.

“Hit,” said Adam.

And so it went on like that, exchanging blows and blocks.  At one point Patrick managed to sweep Liam’s legs out from under him, but Liam immediately kipped up and got Patrick in the back as he brushed past him. 

“I hate it that you can do that,” Patrick half-growled, half-laughed. As tall as he was, it was a lot harder for Patrick to kip up from the floor. Although he had impressive stomach muscles, he also had to get that much higher in the air in order to get his legs fully under him and land on his feet.

Liam just grinned at him and feinted a lunge at his right side.

By the end of the match both men were running out of breath and had collected their own set of bruises, but Liam had amassed the most points. As usual.

Still, Patrick didn’t look at all disappointed at having lost the match. He’d also lost a lot of the tension in his shoulders and was looking a lot more relaxed. Liam was feeling pretty good too, as though he’d managed to work out all the angst that had been plaguing him. 

No one else was interested in sparring today, apparently only he and Patrick had the extra energy to work off.

“Good match,” he said, reaching up a little to pat his friend’s shoulder. “How’s the chin?

“Not bad. Probably won‘t even bruise on my skin,” Patrick replied, rubbing the piece of anatomy in question.  It was true that his mocha skin tone was a lot harder to mark up, although of course Liam had managed to give him a few.  However, hitting him on the chin had happened completely by accident when Patrick had tried to duck out of the way, forgetting that Liam’s height difference made that a hell of a lot harder for him. “Don’t worry, I’ll get you back for it. Soon.”

“Sure, sure,” said Liam with a laugh. Chances were Patrick would just find some kind of scut work for him at Stronghold, maybe ask him to spend a few nights tending bar.  He wouldn’t realize that giving Liam an excuse not to have to try and find a sub would probably be a relief at this point.