“Remember what I told you.”
Shutting my mouth, I sheepishly scanned the bar to see if I had been discovered. For a few uneasy seconds, I waited to see if we were going to be run out of the bar, but no one seemed to notice.
“Heads up,” he mumbled to me. “Here comes Colin.”
I wanted to ask Colin who, but didn’t.
“You met Colin the other day at the park with me,” Garrett stated, reading my thoughts.
How did he do that? Before I could even begin to address Garrett’s psychic abilities, Colin was standing before my stool, grinning from ear to ear.
The attractive man with the piercing blue eyes and handsomely carved features was dressed in a fitted brown suit like all the other men in the bar. Colin had removed his tie and unbuttoned the top two buttons on his cream dress shirt. His fine, light brown hair was slightly windblown, and his faint five o’clock shadow deepened the curve of his square jaw. I thought his gaze on me a bit too intense, but then he directed his eyes to Garrett.
“You work fast,” Colin remarked, as he came forward.
Garrett leaned against the bar behind me. “I told you what I saw in her.”
“Is she compliant?” Colin asked with a little too much excitement in his voice.
“We’re working on that,” Garrett replied with the hint of a snicker.
Colin turned to face me. “Nice to see you again, Lexie.”
My stomach shrank, and I swerved my eyes to Garrett, not sure what to do.
“Say hello, Lexie,” Garrett offered, and placed his hand on my shoulder.
His comforting touch reassured me. “Hello, Colin. Nice to see you again,” I said, trying to sound as monotone as possible.
Had I said too much, not sounded believable? Would he suspect something was up? Christ, how did these subs do it? I had been a sub for less than five minutes, and already I felt like I was developing a complex. I stared ahead, trying to look as passive as possible. God, I needed a drink.
“Very good,” Colin cooed. “I didn’t think she was right for you, but you’ve proved me wrong, yet again. How do you do it?”
Again? Oh, wait till I got him in the car and grilled him about that!
“Colin, where is Missy?” Garrett inquired.
“Home, flu.” Colin shrugged his wide shoulders. “She couldn’t play tonight, so I’m out alone.”
I was glad that they, at least, gave sick time to their subs. Was there vacation time, too?
“Are you going to bring her to the club?” Colin asked, pointing to me.
Garrett’s hand squeezed my shoulder, encouraging me to stay quiet. “I haven’t decided. We have a lot of work to do.”
Colin’s face dipped in front of me. His eyes darted back and forth between mine, then he stood up again.
“You should bring her,” he finally said. “The empress will want to get a look at her. You know how she feels about outsiders.”
The empress? Who was that? More topics of discussion for the car ride home.
“Let me know what you decide. I would like to be there when she is introduced to the other members.” Colin veered in front of me. “See you later, Lexie.” Without waiting for my reply—or not expecting one—he stood again and nodded to Garrett. “We need to talk.”
Colin set out across the bar, and was only a few feet away when I felt Garrett’s hand ease up on my shoulder. I wanted to release a long sigh of relief, but thought better of it. I didn’t want to let Garrett down.
“That was very good,” Garrett whispered to me. “I know just how much it killed you to keep your mouth shut.”
“You have no idea,” I grumbled.
“You stay here,” he curtly ordered. “Don’t talk to anyone while I’m gone.”
“Where are you going?” I asked, panic-stricken.
“I need to speak with Colin.”
“What about the club he mentioned? And who is this empress, Garrett?”
“Save the interrogation for when we are out of here, Lexie.” He came closer, tempting my skin with his hot breath. “Once you get started asking questions, I’ll never get you to stop.”
He went off after Colin. Trying to follow him with my eyes, I lost him behind a crowd of men, blocking my view of the dance floor. Normally, I would have just stood from my stool and adjusted my view. I could not do that here. Like Garrett had said earlier at dinner, people were watching.
Sighing slightly, I shifted my butt a little on the stool and waited. It didn’t take long for the next challenge to present itself when two young women wearing jeans and T-shirts approached the bar, giggling between them.
“Did you see that gorgeous one with the dreamy eyes?” a redhead said beside my stool. “He would do.”
“No way,” her friend, a perky brunette with too much makeup replied. “We came here to find a Mr. Grey, and we aren’t leaving until we’ve met one.”
“Are you sure there are men like that here?” the redhead fussed.
“That’s what the guy at the door said. They come here with their subs.”
The redhead tossed back her long locks with her pale hand. “I sure would love to be somebody’s sub for one night.”
The brunette glanced over at me. “I’m not sure I could be like these girls.” She motioned to me. “How do they sit there like zombies?”
“That’s not what happened in FSOG.”
“None of this is like what happened in FSOG,” the brunette countered. “I just want the hot sex; the other stuff, not so much.”
The women moved away, and my eyes searched the room for Garrett. All about, men and women were paired off; some of the women were talking, the others were passive and quiet. I had not noticed so much in the beginning, but now everywhere I looked I saw evidence of dominant-submissive relationships. Two women were even sporting black leather collars with rhinestones.
“Time to go,” Garrett murmured, taking my arm.
Practically lifting me from the stool, I noticed the way his lips were smashed together and the deep worry lines marring his brow. “What’s wrong?”
“In the car…not here.” He then pulled me across the crowded bar to the entrance.
Once outside, we headed straight for his black BMW. This time he opened the door for me and waited until I was safely in my seat before slamming the door shut. Glancing back at the bar, I saw Colin standing by the entrance, watching us. The man’s suspicious eyes never wavered from our car. As Garrett started the engine, I kept my sights on Colin. There was something menacing about the way he was gawking at our car.
“You mind telling me what that was about?” I shouted, as soon as we had left the parking lot. “And what was all that shit Colin was spouting about clubs and empresses?”
“Colin and I belong to a special club. The De Sade Club.” His hands gripped the steering wheel. I could see how his knuckles shone white against the black leather. “It’s for high-end Doms wanting subs; a place where you can go to meet women who have a desire to be subs. Every member is carefully screened, and admission to the club requires a lot of references and money.”
“How did you hear about this club?”
“Through Colin. I contacted him when I arrived in the city. He introduced me. The empress is the woman who runs the club. She arranges meetings, handles any disputes between subs and Doms, and offers a place where we can play without any unwanted attention.”
I was shocked. This was something you would see in the movies, or read in racy novels. “Are you talking about a whorehouse?”
“No, nothing like that.” He shook his head. “More like a matchmaking service.”
“I don’t understand. Why would you join a club like that?”
He wiped his hand over his brow. “Because I wanted to meet like-minded women I didn’t have to train. There are a lot of bars like that one to meet women. Then you have to train them, find their limits, and set boundaries. It can be time-consuming and tedious for someone like me. I don’t have time to
devote to such a relationship with starting up the new office, so I joined the De Sade Club to have ready access to women already well-trained.”
“Christ, Garrett, it sounds so…I don’t know what to call it.”
The eyebrows went up. “It’s no different than your Mardi Gras crews, Lexie. Those are special clubs where members meet like-minded individuals and share secret parties. It’s the same thing, yet geared toward BDSM gamers.”
“Yeah, but members of a carnival club don’t get together to have sex,” I insisted.
“How do you know that?” He chuckled. “From what I’ve seen of Mardi Gras that is about all that does go on.”
The whole notion of such a club infuriated me. “Come on, Garrett. You know what I’m talking about.”
“It’s just a meeting place, Lexie. That’s all. Sex between two consenting adults can happen anywhere, in any circumstance. What are you so angry about?”
I slammed back in my car seat, sulking. “That shit just sounds creepy, that’s all.”
His lips spread into a condescending sneer, making his face appear darker. “You really shouldn’t curse like that. It doesn’t become you.”
“Become me?” I folded my arms and snickered. “Fuck that.”
His eyes returned to the traffic ahead on Prytania Street. “I think I liked you better back in the bar.”
“You would. Don’t push me, Garrett,” I snarled.
“Wouldn’t dream of it, Lexie.”
The rest of the ride back to my place I said nothing, just tried to digest everything I had witnessed. I had to admit I wasn’t that surprised by the revelation about his club. This was New Orleans, after all, and I had grown up mired in weirdness. I had hoped Garrett to be above such foolishness. I guess the real shock was finding out that he wasn’t that much different than the rest of us.
When his BMW eased into a parking spot in front of the old Victorian Gothic house where I lived, I had replaced my anger with a calming dose of reality. It was his business, not mine, what he did with his life. If he chose to belong to weird clubs where he met others of his kind, then so be it. I had never been judgmental of anyone’s sexual preferences. As long as it was consensual between two individuals over the age of eighteen, and didn’t involve animals, I was fine with it.
“Are you going to take me to your club?” I asked, as he walked me up the herringbone path to the front doors.
“No,” he answered sharply. “It’s not for you.”
I pivoted around to him. “Why not?”
“Lexie, what you experienced tonight was the tamer end of BDSM. There will be consequences if you get in much deeper. I’m not sure you’re ready for that. The De Sade Club can be…intense for those not trained in the art.”
“How intense?”
He placed his hand behind my back, encouraging me toward the porch steps. “Make me some coffee and we’ll discuss it.”
“Do you ever say please?”
He smirked at me. “No.”
Shaking my head, I let him usher me up the steps. “Does your mother know you’re into these clubs?”
That made him laugh out loud, and his booming laughter disturbed the tranquility around the grand home. “No, and I hope to God she never finds out.”
I pulled my keys out of my black purse. “Why, what would she think?”
“Probably where did she go wrong.” He wiped his hand over his forehead. “She’s a very mild-mannered Southern woman. Goes to church on Sundays and makes a pot roast every Saturday for dinner. My tastes would be more than disturbing to her.”
I put the key in the lock. “She ever ask about the women in your life?” The deadbolt clicked open.
“Frequently. I tell her I just haven’t found the right woman, yet.” He pushed the heavy doors open, and we walked inside.
We headed up the grand staircase to my apartment.
“This is magnificent,” he mumbled, admiring the carved bannister.
“Your mother is going to get suspicious, Garrett. You’re how old…thirty-two, thirty-three? She’s going to start asking about grandchildren in a few years.”
His eyes wandered up the flight of stairs. “Actually I’m thirty-five, and she has already mentioned that.” He ran his long hand along the carved banister, caressing the wood like a lover’s skin.
I envied that banister briefly, to be touched like that…whoa, what was I thinking? I knew it had been a long time since I had been with a man, but…back to business.
“So why won’t you bring me to your club?” I persisted once we had reached the top of the stairs.
He came up behind me as I stood before my apartment door. “Lexie, faking it in that bar was nothing compared to what you would have to do in that club. There are rules, conduct for behavior, things you would have to learn.”
I opened my front door and glanced back at him. “What would I have to learn?”
His eyes volleyed between mine. The ripple of excitement that tore through me was so intense, I wanted to look away, but couldn’t.
“If you were to go with me to that club you would have to be trained,” he whispered.
“Trained to do what?” I asked, my voice a little unsteady.
His lips came closer to mine. “Trained to submit to me.”
Okay, that did it. My knees wobbled slightly, and for a spilt second I thought I was going to fall into his arms. I regained control of my faculties, raised my head, and proudly met his eyes head on.
“I’m not afraid of you, Garrett. I will do whatever I have to for my book.” I kept my eyes steadily gazing into his, showing him that I was the stalwart woman I pretended to be, even if I didn’t believe it. “Do you think there is a story in this club?” I voiced, sharing my thoughts with him.
He backed away from me. “You can’t use the club in your book, Lexie.” He strolled in my front door.
I gawked at his broad back as he stepped into my living room and flipped on the recessed lights. “Why not?” I rushed in the door behind him and shut it with a bang.
“Because if word got out about the club, they would suspect one of their members. If I was ever discovered…these are powerful people. They could hurt me financially, ruin the firm, or drive me out of the circle.” He removed his jacket.
“What circle?”
“I would be blackballed out of every BDSM bar, club, or gathering. I would have to venture out on my own to find subs, and that poses more problems than it’s worth.” He tossed his jacket to my antique sofa, his eyes going over the furniture with more than a casual interest.
“Why would going on your own pose a problem? I would think being free of some club and its rules would be better.”
He went to the love seat and ran his hand over the yellow velvet cushion. “Where did you get this furniture? It’s exquisite.”
“It was a wedding gift from my mother.” I walked into the center of my living room, enamored by the way he was stroking the love seat. Damn those hands.
“She has exceptional taste,” he clucked, and then stood back from the love seat.
“You didn’t answer my question, Garrett. Why is it a problem to go out on your own?”
He clapped his hands together. “I would have to gamble on the sub I found, possibly have to do a lot of training, and then there is no guarantee that it would work.” He moved away from the love seat and came toward me. “Ever since that book came out, there have been a lot of pretenders to this game, making clubs almost a necessity for the true practitioner. Many of us like to remain hidden from the general public.”
I nodded my head, remembering the two women in the bar. “I think I overheard some pretenders back at the bar. They kept talking about that book and wanting to hook up with a Mr. Grey type.”
Garrett hesitated before giving me a weak smile. “I’m afraid what they will end up with is a bad experience with someone who is not a true Dom.”
“Hell of a lifestyle you have, Garrett. How many people get hurt by what you
’re involved in?” Chucking my purse to the sofa next to his jacket, I motioned to the kitchen. “How do you like your coffee?”
He came up, pausing inches away from me. “You’re right. We really do need to set the record straight about my way of life.” He furrowed his brow. “How far would you go for this book of yours, Lexie?”
Was he kidding me? I threw my hands up. “The book is everything, Garrett. I would do just about anything to get a good story.”
His eyes stayed locked on mine. “Prove it.”
“What?”
“If you want to go with me to the club, you’re going to have to be trained to be my sub. Learn ways to treat me and how to take punishment and reward from me.”
“What are you talking about?”
“In the club, you’re under a great deal of scrutiny. Submissive behavior to your Dom is expected at all times. Your loyalty to me might even be tested by other Doms. Are you prepared for that?”
“Yes,” I blurted out. “Absolutely. If it gets me into that club and affords me an intimate view of what you do, then I’ll do anything. What would I have to do?”
“First, let’s see if you can do it.” He came around behind me. “Stand perfectly still.”
“What are you going to do?” I was about to turn around to him when his hands came down hard on my shoulders, keeping me in place.
“For the next ten minutes, you are my sub. Everything I tell you to do, you must do. Any want I have, you must fulfill. Do you understand? Answer yes or no only.”
When he mentioned his wants being fulfilled, I debated stopping him and setting some conditions. Then again, this was a very attractive man who wanted to spend time with me. If something more came of it…maybe I shouldn’t worry about conditions.
“Yes,” I sighed.
“Good. Then close your eyes.”
That did not help make me feel any more comfortable with the situation, but I did as I was told. Wasn’t I being a good sub already?
“Part of the duty of a sub is to be familiar with her master’s touch. I have to be able to touch you in any way I please. You cannot flinch or appear afraid.” His hands moved slowly down my back, his fingers pressing against my flesh. “Your body is mine to control.”
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