Excerpt of Top Student by Miranda Baker

"“Breathe with me. In and out. To the count of four. One,
two three, four…that’s it.
Again.”

It hurt to slow her breath, but the hand on her head
demanded obedience. More strong
hands grasped behind her knees, maintaining close contact.
Johnny’s temple brushed
hers, and she realized he was kneeling in front of her while
Destiny curled over her
back. “We’ve got you. We’ll keep you safe. Bonita is safe,
too. Just relax.”

“I can’t.” She almost panicked again when she realized how
little it had taken to make
her lose control. If she was this close to the edge, how
must Bonita feel? She needed
to find her.

“Another shot then?” The humor in his voice broke through
her anxiety, and the band
around her chest loosened. Johnny scooped her up and settled
her on the couch between
him and Destiny. It was comforting to be flanked by two
strong bodies and to not have
to pretend she wasn’t shattered by Bonita’s absence.

“I can’t tell you how to find Bonita.” Destiny’s voice held
an apology.

Kat let the pain wash over her, sensing she wasn’t going to
drown again. For some
reason, these two could keep her head above the waves of
pain. She opened her eyes and
saw Destiny and Johnny sharing a long look.

“But we can teach you anything you want to know about BDSM,
and perhaps that will
bring Bonita to you. You said you haven’t seen her for three
years, right?” Destiny
raised an eyebrow.

Kat nodded.

“That’s about how long she’s been subbing.”

It took a minute for the implication to sink in, but when it
did, she felt dizzy
again. She rested her head against the back of the couch and
closed her eyes, allowing
memories to surface. She and Bonita teaching each other to
kiss. Playing doctor…
teacher…secretary. Learning how to please each other. In
every scenario, Kat had been
the aggressor, but Bonita had eagerly participated. Kat had
never consciously
recognized the roles they had fallen into so naturally.

Was Bonita using BDSM as a substitute for Kat? If so, it
seemed to be working. Bonita
wasn’t taking her calls, answering texts or acknowledging
her existence.
I’m going to punish her for that.

Her eyes blinked open, and she raised her head. The urge was
undeniable, and it was
nothing new. Kat’s dominance and Bonita’s response to her
underscored every facet of
their relationship. Bonita thought playing power games with
strangers was satisfying?
Kat had news for her. If Johnny and Destiny could teach Kat
about BDSM, which now
seemed like a more sophisticated version of Kat and Bonita’s
childhood games, she
could show Bonita exactly how much more satisfying power
games could be—with her. For
the first time since she’d arrived in Norton and found
Bonita gone, Kat felt
optimistic. If Bonita was still running, then she still
cared, and that meant Kat had
a chance.

All she needed to do was learn the rules.

Hope rose inside her, but as she looked back and forth
between Destiny and Johnny, she
knew it would never work. Destiny radiated authority, and
Johnny looked like he’d
rather break than bend. Neither seemed likely to allow her
to practice on them, and as
for letting them dominate her… “There isn’t a submissive
bone in my body.”

Johnny’s smile was wicked. “There is if you choose it.”

“What do you mean?”

“If you asked me to force you to your knees and make you
find the submissive bone in
your body, I could do it.” He held her gaze. “Not because
I’m dominant—although I am—
but because you asked me. Because you want it, and you’ve
given consent. You aren’t
submissive by nature, but Bonita is. Every Domme who plays
at Upstairs adores her. If
you love her, we can make you understand what she needs.”

“I know what she needs.” Jealousy licked up her spine again.
Those Dommes couldn’t
adore Bonita half as much as she did, yet Bonita had chosen
them over her. “But
apparently I have a lot more to learn about how to give it
to her. Let’s do it.”

He nodded once, sharply. “We’ll start tomorrow.”

“Now,” Kat insisted.

Johnny shook his head, pointing at the tequila bottle under
the table.

“I don’t do anything drunk I wouldn’t do sober,” Kat protested.

Destiny squeezed her knee. “Johnny’s right. If we’re going
to engage in deviant
activities with the world’s most beautiful actress, then we
don’t want it to be
because we got her drunk. We want your full consent. We want
every sigh, every sob and
every scream to be stone-cold sober and genuine. Think about
it. I’ll give you some
books so you can read about it. Give it your full
consideration tonight, and get back
to us tomorrow. Between the two of us, you can observe and
experience the full
spectrum of power exchange.” Destiny winked. “If you say
yes, you will officially make
me the best girlfriend ever.”

“What exactly am I saying yes to?” Kat asked. Her attention
had paused at sigh, sob
and scream.

“You are saying yes to engaging in BDSM with the two of us.
That stands for bondage
and discipline, domination and submission—”

“I know what BDSM means.”

Destiny nodded. “You are also saying yes to exploring
conscious control over the power
in your relationship with Bonita.”

“Yes,” Kat said instantly. Kat having any sort of power in
their relationship would be
an improvement.

Johnny stood and held out his hand to Destiny. She took it
and he pulled her to her
feet, pressing a kiss to the back of her hand. “You are
definitely the best girlfriend
ever.”

He cocked an eyebrow at Kat. “Shall we begin?” "