by Marie Tuhart
“I…” Kristen took a deep breath. She had promised him honesty. “I feel a little silly not knowing what that meant.”
“Some people like to be called by a nickname or pet name instead of their first name. I’m proud you asked.” He slipped his arm around her waist and drew her close.
“License, please,” Piper said.
Kristen gave it to her.
Piper looked it over and then handed it back. “You’re all set. I’ll have the new member packet ready for you when you leave.”
“Thanks, Piper.” Cameron settled his arm around Kristen’s waist and guided her down the hallway to another door.
They entered the room, and Kristen pressed her lips together before a laugh could escape. She wasn’t expecting the room to look so normal. There were chairs set up in the front, and tables pushed to the back with a coffee and tea service set up on a long bar where Jack stood alone.
Cameron said, “This is our classroom and meeting area.”
“Hey, Cameron.” Jack strode toward them, and the two men embraced.
Jack was dressed similar to Cameron—black pants, black shirt. What was it with these men and black?
When they pulled apart, Jack focused on her. She changed position from one foot to the other.
“Welcome back, Kristen,” Jack said. “Nice to know we didn’t scare you away.”
“I was never scared. A bit overwhelmed but that’s it, Sir.”
Jack chuckled. “Don’t need to be formal today, and I’m glad you weren’t scared. I take it you enjoyed my demonstration Friday night?”
Heat invaded her face at his question. “Umm, yes. It was interesting.”
Jack laughed then turned to Cameron, and Kristen let out a sigh of relief. Sometimes, Jack’s stare made her feel like she was bug under a microscope.
Jack said, “We’ve got about ten people coming for class today.”
“Not bad.”
Jack nodded. “Yeah. Why don’t I show you around? You probably didn’t see everything when you were here on Friday night.”
“I don’t understand.” Kristen glanced between Jack and Cameron. “You’ve been here before.”
“We made some upgrades while Cameron was in Scotland. Friday night, you two didn’t get all the way around the room.” Jack’s voice had a commanding tone to it.
“Really?” Kristen lowered her gaze. Oh hell, had she spoken out of turn by asking a question? He’d said they didn’t need to be formal.
Cameron cupped her chin and lifted it until she looked into his eyes. “No need to be embarrassed. If there’s anything you need explained, ask.”
Kristen nodded, but she couldn’t stop her cheeks from turning red. She bit her lip when Cameron tried to hide his grin.
“One of the things we’ve done is tightened our membership policy,” Jack said.
“Have you had problems?” Cameron curled his arm around Kristen’s waist as they began to walk to the main section of the club.
“Minor ones, but they still needed to be addressed.” Jack pushed open the heavy wooden door. “If an applicant isn’t sponsored by a member, they have to attend four orientation classes. Today is the first day of that rule.”
“What happened?” Cameron gestured for Kristen to walk through the doorway ahead of him.
She gasped. Her breath caught in her throat as her skin tingled with amazement. She stopped cold in her tracks.
“Not what you were expecting?” He nudged her farther into the room. “I like the new layout,” he said to Jack.
“This is much bigger than I expected,” Kristen gazed darted around the room, noting the high ceiling and the lighting along with the equipment. It seemed so much larger in full light than it had Friday night.
“Yeah. If we get much bigger I’ll need to expand.”
“Expansion is a good problem to have.” Cameron glanced down at Kristen.
“As to your question about problems,” Jack said. “We had a couple of bad members who started creating a fuss.”
“I heard something about that a couple of months ago,” Kristen said. “Two men got into a fight. There were knives involved.” She took a deep breath to calm her racing heart. Seeing the club in full lighting caused excitement to race over her skin.
Jack nodded. “They were fairly new members, and they knew the rules. The two never would have made it past the second orientation.”
“Makes sense,” Cameron said. “You’ll have to bring me up to speed on the new requirements.”
“Will do, because I’m hoping to get you to permanently teach the classes. I’m stretched pretty thin. Why don’t you show Kristen around?” Jack gestured with his arm toward the first station. “Since it’s lit up, I’m sure she’ll appreciate the tour.”
Cameron curved his arm around Kristen’s waist again and guided her over to the first piece of equipment with Jack following. Cameron pointed to the white lines on the floor. “The lines on the floor denote the scene space. You don’t cross them when someone is in a scene.”
Kristen nodded. “I noticed on Friday night that everyone stayed behind them.”
“I think you know what this piece of equipment is.”
“Yeah, it’s a spanking bench. Pretty standard.” She did remember seeing a woman tied up on it. A part of her wondered how she’d look tied up there with Cameron welding a flogger.
“Then why the gasp earlier?” Cameron asked.
“It looks very different in the daylight, and it surprised me.” That was the best explanation she had, because she really hadn’t expected the club to look and feel so different in the daytime. How could she explain it? Friday night had been exciting, but today was more tantalizing.
“Could be because there are independent dimmer switches, but I prefer a little more light than others. It helps us keep an eye on things,” Jack said.
“Us?” Kristen asked. “Are you speaking of the Masters?”
Cameron stared at her. Was her question out of line?
“Remember the dungeon monitors on Friday night?” Jack asked.
She nodded. “You also keep the music to a low level.” Of course, he was talking about the dungeon monitors. Kristen wanted to smack herself for forgetting. “That was nice. You could hear what was going on and have a normal conversation without yelling. Other clubs are not like that.”
Jack’s eyebrows rose, and he glanced at Cameron.
“She’s had some pretty bad experiences,” Cameron said quietly, keeping his gaze on Kristen. “It’s her story to tell.”
Kristen swallowed. There wasn’t any reason to hide her experience. “I have,” she said, glad her tone was calm and steady. “The place I went to before was not only super dark but had loud music. If there were monitors, they wouldn’t have been able to hear anything let alone see if someone was in trouble.” A shiver slid up her spine, and she reminded herself that those days were gone. Decadence was a well-run club from what she could see. One she felt safe in with Cameron.
“Well, you don’t have to worry about that here,” Jack reassured her. “As you noted, we play music, but it’s in the background and not overpowering.”
“That’s a new piece.” Cameron guided her two stations down to what looked like a giant, metal spider web attached to a wooden frame.
How had she missed this on Friday? Maybe because after her climax when they’d gone back into the club, her attention had been more focused on Cameron.
“Yes, I love this one.” Jack ran his hand over the well-polished wood frame. “It’s our newest suspension-bondage piece.”
Cameron released her waist and walked over to it. He grabbed the metal web and shook it. “Very nice construction.”
“You can bind your sub to the web or use the web for suspension. It also doubles for flogging or whipping.”
“Wouldn’t the metal hurt the person tied to it?” Kristen tilted her head and stared. It looked awfully uncomfortable. Yet she could see Cameron securing her to the metal, teasi
ng her with his fingers and whispering in her ear, telling her what he was going to do to her. Her pussy tightened.
“Come here.” Cameron held his hand out.
Kristen put her hand into his, allowing him to draw her close.
“Feel the metal.” He placed her hand on the crosspiece.
“It’s smooth and…almost soft to the touch, but you can feel the strength in it.”
“I take player safety very seriously,” Jack said.
Cameron leaned close to her and whispered, “I can’t wait to see you bound here and my flogger turning your skin pink with excitement.”
Kristen shivered with anticipation, but she turned and pointed to another station before she melted into a puddle at Cameron’s feet. “That’s another one I haven’t seen before.”
“This one has been very popular,” Jack said. “It’s a custom-built, modular bondage system.”
Kristen looked at the frame which had metal rings at the top, then lots of wooden slats in-between—some with holes, some without. It had a medieval feeling to it.
“Oh, wow.” Cameron walked over to the piece of equipment. “Modular bondage system.” His tone was hushed as he looked at each piece.
“I don’t get it.” To her, it just looked like an odd piece of metal and wood to tie someone to.
“Everything moves,” Cameron said. “It will allow a Dom to tie and torment a sub in different positions.” He looked at Jack. “Do you have pictures? I’d like Kristen to see how it works.”
Jack grinned. “Oh yeah, Diane let me take some. Let me go get them.” He jogged out of the room.
Cameron smiled.
She laughed and said, “You look like a kid in a candy shop.” And for some reason, that made her happy.
“I am. We drooled over this one for months.” He returned to her side. “Anything else you need explained?”
Kristen looked around the club. St. Andrew’s crosses, bondage chairs and tables—standard stuff she’d seen before. “I’m good.” She was better than good; her clit tingled in anticipation of using some of the equipment at a future date.
“Have I scared you?”
Kristen smiled. “No. I like that you and Jack are very conscious of safety. It’s not always that way.”
“You’ve had some bad experiences. It’s one of the reasons Jack and I work so well together. We believe in education and safety.”
Jack walked back into the room and held a small album out to Cameron.
Kristen stood next to Cameron as he opened it, then she gasped. “Oh, dear Lord.”
They say pictures are worth a thousand words… But these made all her words disappear. Seeing the pictures of a sub tied up to the bondage system in different positions made all the difference in the world in realizing how the piece worked. The thought of having him use the system on her in a private setting—maybe in a couple of months when she was more secure with Cameron and kink—sent a thrill of anticipation up her spine.
“Those are just a few of the positions you can do. We haven’t experimented too much yet. We’ve only had it a month,” Jack explained.
Kristen looked at the bondage system then back at the pictures. They could tie someone up within the frame. There was a bench that could be pulled out and used, and there were stocks…so many ways to bind someone and put them on display.
“Advanced players only?” Cameron asked.
“Yes.”
“Excuse me,” Piper said from the doorway. “Jack, some of the new members are arriving.”
“Duty calls. See you in fifteen in the classroom.” Jack loped out of the room.
Kristen kept looking between the pictures and the equipment, trying to equate the two, her mind spinning over how it would feel to be put on display like that.
“Think about it,” Cameron whispered in her ear while tapping one of the pictures. “You laying there, your head and arms in the stocks, legs in the calf stirrups, and your ankles restrained. You’re wide open to me for whatever I want to do.”
Kristen’s mouth dropped open; she couldn’t get in enough air. She could picture Cameron standing next to her, bent over in the stock, tormenting her with a flogger or just his lips. Her skin tingled, and her pussy tightened. Oh. Dear. God.
“Cameron.” Her voice was soft and husky with need.
“One day.” He closed the album then drew her into his arms. “One day, when you’re ready.” He gave her a quick, hard kiss before setting her away from him. “Come on. You have a class to attend.”
On shaky legs, she followed him out of the club and into the classroom. This was going to be an interesting afternoon.
****
“Well, what did you think?” Cameron asked later that afternoon as he pulled out the takeout containers from the bags at his home.
“My head is full.” Kristen grinned as she finished setting out silverware on the breakfast bar. He’d gone over a lot of topics. Everything made her more eager to learn and spend time with Cameron.
“Most classes are like that.” He waited until she sat down before he took his own seat. “Eat up.”
She put some food on her plate before glancing back at him. “I understand Safe, Sane, and Consensual. But RACK…that was new to me.”
“Risk Aware Consensual Kink.” He loaded his plate with food. “While all of us at the club practice SSC, RACK is just another part.”
“But is it unsafe?”
“It can be. The whole thing with RACK is knowing whatever scene you’re about to participate in could have some risk.”
“Like blood play?” She wanted to understand the difference between SSC and RACK.
“Yes, because sometimes, accidents do happen. Subs need to understand the risk, as do the Doms.”
Kristen nodded. That made sense. “The rules of the club are pretty extensive.” That had surprised her. She hadn’t expected so many rules around play, not after what she’d seen before.
“The rules are there to protect everyone. We do have city, county, and state laws to follow. Thankfully, they are pretty lenient. Jack wanted a place people felt safe to explore their kinkiness and not worry about what other people thought.”
“How did you learn about Decadence?” she asked before taking a bite of her food.
“I’d been teaching at the university for about three years when Jack asked if he could audit the class.”
“Audit?”
“It’s someone who wants to take the class for no credits or a grade.”
“Oh.” She ducked her head and scrunched up her face. Stupid question.
“Kristen.” Cameron’s voice was sharp. “Look. At. Me.” Each word came out firmer than the last one.
She lifted her head to find him staring at her. She fought against hiding behind her hands or running out of the room.
“Remember what I said earlier today. The only stupid question is the unasked one.”
Her mouth dropped open. “How did you know?”
“When you’re embarrassed, you drop your head down. And there’s no need to ever be embarrassed with me.”
“I…” She shook her head. She had no idea what to say. Most of her life, her family had belittled her for just about anything. Her grandmother had done her best to keep her confidence up, but it wasn’t until she broke away from her family that she had found her independence. But sometimes, she slipped into old patterns. No more. She wanted to do more kinky stuff with Cameron.
Cameron took a sip of water. “Anyway, Jack sat through my class for the semester. After it was over, he approached me, asking me if I was willing to help him get Decadence off the ground.”
“Are you his partner in the club?” she asked.
“No. I helped him get the permits, worked with the town council, and helped get everything up and running.”
“I’m surprised the town folks here in Grant allowed the club to exist.”
“You’d be surprised.” Cameron pushed his empty plate away. “There were requirements to
get things started. The club had to be on the outskirts of town where traffic and people wouldn’t bother anyone.”
“It’s a nice building. Bigger than I thought it would be.”
“Yeah, Jack wanted the club to be unique. The building was a small, abandoned warehouse. He bought it for a song and the sale included the land around it.”
“I know Jack owns the gas station, but that must have cost him a pretty penny, even here in Grant.” She thought of the cost of her café with the apartment above it. It had taken most of her inheritance from her grandmother to purchase the place.
She closed her eyes, and her shoulders sagged. What would her grandmother think of her now? Would she be upset that Kristen had left California to make her own way? No, she was probably cheering her on from the grave. Granny had always told her to do what she wanted to do, not what she thought everyone wanted her to do. But her parents? They would be horrified.
“You’re sad. What happened?” Cameron asked.
Kristen hadn’t even noticed the tears in her eyes. “I was just remembering my grandmother.” She shook her head and took a deep breath. “It was because of her that I was able to come to Grant and start my business.”
“You miss her.” He reached across the table and caressed the back of her hand.
“Yes. She was a special woman, regardless of the family she married into.” She gave him a half smile. “We might as well get comfortable.”
Cameron slid his chair back and stood, holding his hand out to her. She placed her hand in his. He led her into the family room and stopped in front of the love seat, snagging her around the waist and tumbled them onto it.
She laughed as he wiggled into position with her in his lap. “Is everything so physical with you?”
“Yes.” He flashed a quick smile. “I love having you in my arms, feeling your skin beneath mine.”
Heat flared in her core and spread out through her body like an out-of-control forest fire. “You make me feel so special.”
“You are special.” He brushed his lips over her nose. “Will you tell me about your grandmother?”
“Yes.” Talking about her grandmother was one thing she could do. She snuggled into his arms. “As I said, Granny was an exceptional woman.”