“It’s kind of hot when I think about it. Would you let me watch?”
I watched Mitch as he laughed. “I’ll be honest. I never thought about men growing up. I never even considered it an option. I was a guy, and I was supposed to date a girl. When I first became a Dom, it was not in this club. I knew my dad ran this type of club, even came a few times with him, but felt uncomfortable each time. I moved to Houston for college and found a local club. The training I went through was much different, and I was taught ‘To be a proper Dom you had to try everything you were willing to dish out. You couldn’t put the sub in the proper subspace if you didn’t know how it felt to be put there under the same or close circumstances.’ I was given the club membership papers and this was on the front page. When you signed it, you agreed to be taught in this manner. On the last page it asked what all I was willing to learn and had a huge list with boxes beside each. I checked off most of the boxes. I was so damn curious. My Master’s name was Calvin. You will meet him soon. He’s a big guy, who has a way with words, and could and does get inside one’s head.”
“I’ll meet him?” I could hear the admiration in his voice when he spoke of this man and didn’t know if I wanted to meet someone whom he held so much respect. What if I didn’t measure up?
“Yes, we remain friends to this day. He’s the closest thing I have to a brother. I have asked that he come in and help with the reshaping of the clubs. He can do a better job than anyone I know.”
“Tell me about the clubs,” I asked instead of the question I wanted to know. How much training had he received?
“Now?”
“Sure, why not?”
“Well, because I have you naked on my lap for one.”
“You would have me naked on your lap all the time if you could.”
“True.”
“To thoroughly explain I have to go back to the beginning. Back in the nineteen thirties The Red Door was a boarding house. It stayed that for years and expanded. When the war started, the women who were left to take care of their families moved in. It was easier with several people around to leave the younger kids with the older ones while the adults did all the work. You have to remember, back then it could be anything from hauling water to baking bread to chopping wood. The more experienced women taught the others how to do things the correct way and so on. It worked all the way down to even the smallest kids. As the men returned from war, they liked seeing the women work for them.
“Several men had enjoyed prostitutes while overseas and they learned exactly how erotic sex could be. A few of the veterans came together with my grandfather and opened a club with the same name as the boarding house.
“Women came to learn how to please their husband in the bedroom and in public. To make sure they were casting the best image not only for themselves, but for their Master. Back when this club opened, it was not only a woman’s job to take care of the house, children, and the duties there, but also be anything and everything that her husband needed. It varied in different relationships; sometimes a husband needed his wife to be a good host, and sometimes the wife was needed to please his bosses so he could get that raise to provide more for his family. And whatever was needed, in or out of the club, was given because the wife was completely submissive.
“It was a surprise to the men how many of them were submissive. When they were ready, they agreed to be trained at the club. Many of the girls started coming to the front of the club at twelve and thirteen years old to help serve lunch and drinks. The front was a gathering place for men to talk and eat. It gave the daughters a chance to mingle and learn how to respect the men. By the time they were fifteen, they knew how to please a man in public. Just like the boys were taught to appreciate everything the girls did for them, to treasure them.
“At seventeen, they were given a choice to work in the back. This could be clean-up or serving drinks to really who knows, but it allowed the girls to watch the older women please their men. Once they were engaged, they were taught how to give blowjobs and hand jobs. Most of the women already in a relationship would offer advice and teach the younger ones how to do this as well as other things. Most were getting married by eighteen and after the marriage and honeymoon their training would continue to advance on to the real sexual training. Although it did have some BDSM, it was still mostly private. If there were spankings and such, it was done in complete private.”
“It sounds like the fathers trained their daughters to become a sex slave to the men he was friends with,” I said wrinkling my nose.
“No. Maybe, I’m not explaining it correctly. It was all done by choice. The boarding house was separate from the club. At twelve and thirteen the girls were allowed to volunteer. If anything, the fathers were overprotective of their daughters, only allowing them in the front of the club while they were there. The front was a place to meet men your father already approved of. They did date outside of the club; it wasn’t all big brother, Ari. And it was the woman’s choice to date anyone from the club, but the club itself was kept small and quiet.”
“How did they keep it from becoming incestuous?”
“It was a different time then. A lot of wars had gone on and were still going on. My grandfather had some friends through the military who had the same views and had learned from the same prostitutes. When they had a chance, they would come out and stay for a while. There were several small rooms at the club and the boarding house. They talked to their friends and word spread. It was never a quick trip when they came to stay—they would stay for about a year. They had to have training to learn how to be the man of the house and to appreciate their wife. Some even had to learn how to please a woman. When one would move out another would move in. There was a waiting list for rooms then and several of the families actually let some of the men stay in a spare room in their homes.”
“Well, that explains the men, but what about the women? With so many men how were there enough women?”
“War again. Men died and women could not support themselves or their children. Work was hard and food was rationed. The men who lost comrades told the widowed wives that if they needed help they should notify my grandfather. Some of his trusted friends who lived close to him already had families, and they would take in the families of the fallen comrades. The men would go to war or work when they were old enough and the women and girls started in the club or helping out at the boarding house. The wives of the deceased would help around the house where they stayed, as well as the club, for a year. When the year was up she would need to start looking for a new husband, but being at the club and helping at different houses, even if it was cleaning, most found a new husband before the year was up.”
“It sounds like it was a great group of friends and something to be involved in. Especially the way they helped the women get back on their feet since there weren’t many other options opened to them at that time. Why did it change?”
“Time mostly. These were not your common men. Several went on to become great businessmen and leaders in our country. Keeping good friends and support when someone was at the top, they helped more move into positions of power. A powerful man with powerful friends is a force to be reckoned with. The more time went by, the more power hungry people became. Slowly friendships died because they used each other as a stepping ladder instead of supporting the other. In the late sixties and early seventies, the Women’s Right Movement and Free Love Movement were in full force. Women didn’t want to join a club that was viewed as sexist. The men also no longer wanted to get married when they could have as many girls as they wanted without a commitment. Dad stepped in and changed the club. He had it remodeled, and when it opened, you had to apply for membership. It was a male-only membership with subs being invited by members. Most of the rules he started with are still in place now with a few exceptions, the most obvious being that both men and women can obtain membership. This one reopened in nineteen seventy-two. He opened another one in two thousand and nine, when I took this one over. And I op
ened one in a different location in two thousand thirteen.”
“Are they run the same way?”
“Yes and no. More changes have taken place as society changes. Things that were taboo are now not so much. The same rules apply, but one is geared more toward sadomasochism, for people who enjoy pain or humiliation. It’s called The Black Door. It’s the one that opened in two thousand and nine. The club I opened last year is called The Bronze Door.”
“The Bronze Door? They’re all a different color of door? What’s the meaning behind the names?”
“With The Red Door, my grandfather named the club the same as the boarding house. The boarding house was called The Red Door because when frontier travelers saw a red door it meant they were welcome there. Of course that was long before my grandfather’s time, but he liked the idea. My dad kept the name when he reopened the club. Now, The Red Door’s name could be seen to mean a state of being in heat and also a luster, glow, or bright coloring. Kind of like your ass, when spanked, it turns red and how you feel when it does. Red is the color of passion. By painting the front door red it is saying that it is a vibrant place, full of life, energy, and excitement. In Biblical times, blood on doors was there to protect their first born from the angel of death. Passing through red doors would mean that you were on holy ground. There is a saying: “The kingdom of joy is protected from all evil by a red door.” In different religions it can mean it’s sacred or that the sacrifice has been paid. During times of the Underground Railroad, slaves knew they could find safety in the houses with red doors, but the meaning for us is a combo of all the above. We want it to be a safe place to come, leave all the shit at the door, and enter with a positive open attitude. That to us is sacred.”
“And the fact that red is seen as a universal sexy color helps, too.” I smirked at him.
“True.”
“And The Black Door?”
“I’ll tell you, but you will start paying some attention to my cock in your hands. And not to just keep it warm.”
“Is it getting a little jealous?” I laughed as I started moving my right hand up and down.
“Damn, that feels good.” He leaned his head back and became quiet.
“The Black Door?” I squeezed a little harder and watched as he moaned and pivoted his hips.
“Yes, The Black Door. My dad named it deciding to play off of the color door theme. He chose black because it’s all consuming. The Black Door is much like that but sudden and intense. You’ll not leave unmarked. It’ll scar you, somehow, someway. A black front door means strength and power. It means sophistication and authority. It’s a powerhouse for people of prominence. At least that’s how he wanted it to appear and be. It’s the end of the road in BDSM, the deepest you can go. The club is not one I’m fond of or near as popular. It’s a member only, and one can only become a member by a Master vote. That’s where all the Masters come together to decide. It’s more expensive, too. The club is so private that only the members know about it. It’s a club for sadists, and they participate in things the members in this club would deem too taboo.”
I took a deep breath and asked what I wasn’t sure if I even wanted to know the meaning to.
“Like what?”
“First, let me say that the members go in knowing what they are doing. There’re no laws broken. When they become a member, they’re given an overall safeword. They’re reminded of this word by security each time they enter. In the scenes, they can use other safewords but not this word. It is an overall safeword. If used, security steps in and everything stops.”
“Okay.” I had started breathing harder. I didn’t know if I wanted to know any more. Why would someone go somewhere that they needed a safeword on top of a safeword?
“Members go to experience the extreme, to walk the line on illegal, but still fall on the legal side.”
“Like what?”
“Shit, Ari. I don’t want to tell you. It’s not a place I would ever let you go.” I watched as he rubbed his hand through his hair. It was a long rich wavy brown.
“Like what?”
“Like slave auctions, rape games, Daddy scenes, blood, knives, piercings, and humiliation. As long as it follows the rules of safe, sane, and consensual it’s allowed, with a few exceptions.”
“Okay. I don’t need to know any more.” I was breathing hard now, and it wasn’t from being turned on. It was scary how deep some of this went.
“See, this is why I didn’t want to tell you. I rarely go there, and it’s not for fun when I do.”
“It’s fine. We both know it’s not for me so we don’t have to go.”
“Right. You don’t know my dad, but you’ll meet him soon I’m sure. When he signed over the clubs, that one was included. I don’t want it. I don’t like that shit. Don’t understand the thrill of it, but we have members here who need that outlet. I have been told that my dad didn’t like it until Mom passed and then he slowly became more and more involved until he felt they needed another more private club. It’s legal, and it makes him happy, but it isn’t for me so there is no way I can completely take it over. That’s why I’ve invited Calvin. He can take it over and redesign it where the lines are not so smudged.”
“And what about The Bronze Door?” I asked ready to change the subject.
He smiled at me knowingly and leaned forward kissing me deep while wrapping his hand around mine and pumping his cock with more speed. “Well that depends who you ask I guess. Michelangelo likened the gilded bronze doors of Florence’s Baptistery of San Giovanni to the Gates of Paradise. And in the Bible there was a Nehhoshet sacrificial alter. Nehhoshet can mean copper or bronze. There was also a bronze laver that the Priest used to wash their hands and feet before they entered a Holy place.” He watched me to see what I would say.
“So you painted the door Bronze, because you wanted it to be a place where subs want to go to sacrifice themselves to the ones they worship, in a place that’s viewed as the Gates of Paradise. I can see how others would view it as that, but not you. Why did you choose bronze for the door color?”
“Smart girl.” He grabbed my hips and pivoted as he pulled me against my fists around his cock. The friction made me moan.
“And right.”
“And right. I overheard a conversation my grandfather had a long time ago. I don’t remember much about it, only one part. A pair of bronze doors covered with figures that evoke human emotions such as forbidden love, punishment, and suffering. When I was trying to decide on a color, I remembered what he said and did some research. I found a pair of bronze doors made by Auguste Rodin. They are called The Gates of Hell. They are immensely sexual, and they also honor different types of love. After remembering what my grandfather said, I would have painted the doors bronze anyway but researching the doors and finding the meaning and the feelings they evoked. That’s what I wanted. What I want.”
“The Bronze Door represents a place where one would go not only to find forbidden love, punishment, and suffering, but other types of love as well, be it sexual, friendly, or familial.”
“Right. I want to bring back the friendship, love, and camaraderie the club had at the beginning.”
“How do you manage it from here?”
“I manage it the same way I do the other two. I put my trusted members over the club. Each club has two main Masters over them the nights they are opened.”
“They control the club, although I am hands on when I am at any of them. I plan to introduce you to the other Masters. There are only four Masters at each club. They can all four be there and be in charge when opened, but there have to be at least two. Twelve Masters in all. Some you already know Adam, Alex, Diana, and Colby, who’s been out of town, but he comes back tonight. I’ll take you to The Bronze Door and let you meet the Masters there and have the ones from The Black Door come here to meet you. It is important that you meet and know them. They are the guys I trust my life with. Like Grandpa, these are the guys who had my back when I was sent abroad.
They’ll be in your life, since you are in mine. You have family dinners on Sunday, and I have Thursday night poker with the guys. They are my family and I mean that as in they’ll be your new big brothers and sisters. I know knowing that some are more deviant than others might make them seem unapproachable, but it shouldn’t. Both Adam and Holly are members of The Black Door. And so is Diana. Just because people are members doesn’t mean they participate in everything.”
“Abroad? As in overseas? In the military? What branch did you serve?”
“Sweetheart, it was a long time ago and the only thing I value from it is the friends I made through it. Please, don’t ask me. Some things that happen in the dark cannot be safeworded any more than the voids it leaves can be filled.” His voice changed when he told me this, and I could hear the ache. It made me yearn to do exactly what he said couldn’t be done. Fill his void and be his safeword. Since he wasn’t going to let me in, I decided to get back on topic. I swiped my thumb across the head of his cock and brought my thumb to my mouth.
“You need to finish telling me about your training.” I watched his eyes light up as I sucked my thumb.
“Ari,” he moaned. “Enough talk. I want my cock in your mouth.”
“Okay, but will you continue to tell me while I suck your cock? Please, Sir.” I dropped down between his legs and licked the underside of his cock. It was salty and warm. I knew that it was what had dried from our previous activity up against the wall. I was surprised that it didn’t suppress my desire. I swirled my tongue around and licked from his balls up to his mushroomed head again. He leaned his head back, releasing his soft words to the ceiling. I felt powerful thinking he was relishing the feel of my mouth on him as I listened to the story he told.
“Right, my training. I trained with Calvin for nearly a year before I realized he was a sadist. He was exceedingly good at his job and most of his training was done in private rooms. It started off slowly. If I wanted to learn something I had to learn to do it or receive it. That was what the paperwork I signed implied so I went in with an open mind, but I was still surprised by what I considered open-minded and what they considered open.
The Red Door (The Door Series Book 1) Page 15