Shaking off the thought, she began to go through a list of questions she had written down before she came. She found his answers were valuable to her research as she took several more pages of notes. "How many members do you have?"
"Over three hundred and fifty but some of them live in the area part time so they only come a few times a year. The waiting list is over two hundred people and that's only for this club. There are four other clubs in the Tampa area but only two of those are private. The others are open to the public which isn't safe in my opinion. They don't keep track of their members and anyone could walk in off the street and start to play. Anyway, The Covenant has an elite clientele and the reputation of being the club to belong to. And it's not my ego talking. We've worked hard to become the best."
"Holy cow!" Over three hundred and fifty members, with more than half of that trying to get in? She had expected him to say less than a hundred members.
"Didn't think so many people were into kink, did you?"
Kristen shook her head in amazement as he continued. "We have a capacity for five hundred people in here as approved by the fire inspector, but I doubt we'll ever let the numbers get that high."
"Hey, Mitch, did you talk to Ian yet?" A male voice boomed and echoed in the empty club. As they both turned toward the grand staircase where someone was descending, Kristen heard, "What the hell are you doing here?!"
She froze and searched her mind for an answer as a very sexy and very pissed off Devon strode up to her and stopped inches from her face. Uh-oh, this wasn't good. Wait a minute...what the hell are you doing here? What the hell was he doing here?
Mitch glanced from Ms. Kristen Anders to his cousin wondering what was going on. It was obvious Devon knew who she was but she had no clue Devon was associated with The Covenant. "Um, last time I checked Dev, I run the place. That's what the hell I'm doing here."
Devon growled, never taking his eyes off the pretty young thing who all of a sudden looked like she wished she was anywhere else but here. "Shove it, Mitch. I asked you a question, Kristen. Don't make me ask you again."
Kristen may be a submissive, Mitch had recognized it right away, but his cousin had just pushed one of the woman's buttons a little too hard. Her back straightened as she stood up to the big, bad Dom staring down at her.
"It's not any business of yours, but Master Mitch was nice enough to give me a tour of his club for some research I'm doing for my book."
Her remark may have answered his immediate question but raised several more for him. "Research? In case you hadn't noticed, this is a BDSM sex club, Kristen."
"Of course I noticed, and it's obvious that little fact didn't get past you, now did it? Now please leave and let me finish my tour."
Mitch's laughter was cut off by Devon's lethal glare and he took a step back. He wasn't stupid enough to poke the lion anymore, but he'd be damned if he was going to miss this show.
"What were you thinking, Mitch? A tour? What are we, fucking Disney World?"
"I had Marco do a background check on her. Brody was busy. After I confirmed she wrote fiction and wasn't some reporter trying to check the place out, I figured it was fine. She has no cameras or recorders."
That was why he hadn't known about her background check. Marco had done the research and the name hadn't been familiar to him. Brody, who usually did the checks, would have recognized it right away and mentioned it to him. "How the hell did you find out about the club in the first place?" He was back to questioning her again.
She raised her chin in defiance. There was no way she would let this man intimidate her no matter how much she was attracted to him–and damn it, was it getting hot in here? "One of my Beta-readers is a member and she contacted Master Mitch for me."
Devon's eyes flicked toward his cousin with an unspoken question.
"Shelby."
Kristen huffed. She'd answered his questions but now she was becoming infuriated with him sticking his nose where it didn't belong. "This is really none of your business, Devon."
Devon stared back at her and growled, "None of my business? See, that's where you're wrong, Pet, this is my business. I own this club."
Her mouth dropped open as she looked back and forth between the two men. "Y-you own the club? I thought Master Mitch owned it."
"He's my cousin. We're co-owners, along with my brother. So, allow me to re-introduce myself to you, Pet. I'm Master Devon."
Kristen's mouth went dry. Shit! There was no way this could be happening. Of all the things which could go wrong today, she hadn't expected this. He was a Dom? She knew she was in so much trouble but didn't know why or what to say, so she just stared at him, her chin almost hitting the floor.
"What kind of research are you doing? Your books are pretty vanilla when it comes to sex, so why the hell do you need to research a BDSM club?" He realized his mistake as soon as the words were out of his mouth but there was no way to take them back.
"You read my books?"
She sounded as shocked as Mitch looked. Great, just great. It would be a long time before his cousin forgot this conversation.
He crossed his arms, forcing her to back up a step. "I didn't read any of them. Jenn left one of the books you gave her on the bar. I was curious about you and flipped through it. Now stop dancing around my questions."
Mitch cleared his throat. "I have a question. How do you two know each other?"
Refusing to give his cousin any ammunition for future jokes, Devon rolled his eyes. "Shut it, Mitch."
But to his dismay, Kristen spoke at the same time. "We have a date tonight."
Mitch's eyes widened because he couldn't have heard her right. Devil Dog? On a date? Like a date-date? Damn, the end of the world must be near. With flair for the dramatic, he stuck his finger in his ear to clear any blockage. "I'm not sure I heard you right, can you repeat that? It sounded like you said you two had a date."
Before she could answer him, Devon growled–which he did a lot in her presence. "Mitch, if you know what's good for you, you'll go upstairs and do some inventory or something. I'll finish taking Ms. Anders on her...tour."
To Kristen's shock, Master Mitch sighed and headed toward the staircase. "Don't forget, she's not allowed to play."
"I know. I was there when we wrote the club rules."
Mitch didn't stop walking up the stairs but raised his voice so she could hear him. "Ms. Anders, don't worry. You're in good hands. Oh, don't forget, the club safe-word is 'red'. I'll be at the bar if you need to use it."
Her eyes widened. There was no way he was leaving her alone with Devon, was there? The man looked like he wanted to spank her ass for the next three days straight and, good Lord, why did the thought make her wet?
Devon took a step toward her. Kristen's response was instantaneous and she took two steps back, looking for a way to get around him. He arched his brow and took another step. She tried not to react again but before she knew it, he had backed her up to the wall and stopped right in front of her, blocking her escape. Without saying a word, he reached out and took her pad and papers, tossing them on a small table behind him before doing the same with her pen and purse.
He then took hold of her wrists and brought her arms above her head. There were only a few inches between their bodies and she could feel the heat of his. She wished he would take a half a step toward her and then she would know what it felt like to be in contact with his hard chest, sculpted abs and trim hips. Oh and don't forget the massive erection he was sporting.
"Eyes up, Pet."
Heaven help her. She lifted her chin to find a perceptive grin on his face and she turned red, knowing she'd been caught staring at his crotch. He leaned forward, his mouth almost touching her ear and whispered, "You still haven't answered my question."
The words may have been simple, something you could hear in an everyday conversation but somehow he made them sound erotic and the heated feel of his breath on her ear didn't help. She swallowed hard, her legs trembling. Not in f
"Why are you researching BDSM when you write vanilla sex?"
Couldn't he back up a little? "Um...well, my first nine books are...are vanilla, but my last book was based on a BDSM club and...and now I'm writing the second one in a series."
"You gave my niece a kinky romance to read." He didn't sound happy about it at all.
"Act...actually, I didn't give that one to her, only the others. It felt a little weird giving a nineteen year old a BDSM book."
She drew in a deep breath, relieved when he took a step backwards. But her feeling of relief didn't last long when she realized her arms were stuck. Tilting her head up, she tugged on her arms to find he'd shackled her wrists with Velcro restraints dangling from the balcony overhang. How did she not know he was doing that? Oh God, she was trapped.
She gaped at him and was annoyed to see he was laughing at her with a sinister smirk, his arms crossed over his muscular chest again. Damn the man was gorgeous...and dangerous. Not in a bad way, but also not in a good one. And here she was with no way to escape. She wouldn't panic. Master Mitch was right upstairs. She was safe, wasn't she? "Let me go." She hoped the demand would sound confident, but instead, it sounded breathy.
He shook his head. "Not until your tour is complete."
Damn, how had she not noticed how arrogant the man was? "I didn't know class participation was part of the tour."
Devon let out a full-blown laugh. "Oh, how I love bratty submissives. They give me plenty of reasons to spank their asses beet red. And I'll tell you, at the moment, my hand is itching to get at your sweet ass."
"I'm not a submissive."
The look he gave her said he didn't believe her for a second before he turned around and took three steps to the table where he'd put her things. Turning a wooden chair around, he straddled it and sat down facing her. Without saying a word he picked up her pad and the papers Mitch had given her and began to look through them.
"Hey, that's my stuff. I didn't give you permission to look through my notes."
"Quiet."
He never looked up as he issued the deep-voiced command and it sent a shiver through her body. She began to look around, trying to figure out how to get out of the restraints. She should be scared out of her wits but, for some reason, she wasn't. Instead she was turned on and it freaked her out a little...well, actually, a lot. Yes, she had fantasized about this stuff and she wrote about it but it didn't appeal to her in real life, did it? Apparently it did, because during her entire marriage, she had never once been this aroused and Devon had only touched her wrists. What would happen if he touched her in other places? Did she want him to? Her body screamed at her–hell, yeah!
She looked back at him and realized he was now reading the papers Mitch had given her. Shit! While Mitch was talking on his phone, she skimmed through the soft and hard limit checklist. She didn't fill out the entire form but had checked off what she considered to be hard limits for her. Everything else she skipped over, planning to go through the list again later to figure out what she thought she would like and what she wasn't sure about. "Hey, stop! That's private!"
Devon rolled his eyes and sighed then got up from his seat. Without looking at her, he strode over to open a cabinet she hadn't noticed, which was built into the wall a few feet away from her. He grabbed something and then shut the door again before walking back to his seat. Pivoting to face her he held up an object. "Do you know what this is, Pet?"
She had a feeling she did, but she bit her bottom lip and shook her head.
"It's a ball gag. Usually I only give an order once and expect it to be obeyed, but since this is new to you, here is your second and final warning. Stay quiet unless I ask you a question. Your only answers should be 'yes, Sir' or 'no, Sir' unless I ask you for a detailed answer. Anything else out of your mouth will result in me using the ball gag. Understood?"
As her girlie parts began to throb, Kristen nodded her head and he frowned at her. "Y-yes, Sir."
"Do you wish to use your safe-word? If you do, I'll let you loose and escort you out...without your research, of course."
What?! Crap, he was serious. "No, Sir."
Devon placed the gag on the table where she was sure to see it every time she looked at him. He was pleased to see a shudder run through her body and a nervous but heated look in her eyes. He loved to play the psychological games involved in BDSM and, damn it, he wanted to play the physical games with her, too, but now was not the time. Instead he sat back down and looked over her checklist again. Having seen hundreds of them in the past, it didn't take long for him to read her partial list, but he pretended to take his time.
He waited...and waited. And yes, there it was. She began to squirm, her hips and feet moving ever so slightly, but enough for him to notice. She rubbed her thighs together and he knew without a doubt her pussy was wet.
"I'm pleased to see most of your hard limits are similar to mine, but I'd love to see where you place the activities you haven't checked off yet. But I'm curious about why nipple clamps are a hard limit for you? I don't think I've ever seen that on a submissives hard limit list before."
Kristen swallowed hard. She wasn't going to tell him the real reason, which was too embarrassing. Instead she answered, "My nipples are too sensitive, Sir. The thought of clamps freaks me out."
He looked at her as if confused. "Out of all the hard limits you checked off, if you had to move one to a soft limit, which one would you choose?"
She thought for a moment before answering, trying to remember what she checked off as her hard limits. "The bullwhip, Sir."
"You would choose a whip over nipple clamps?" He knew he sounded as surprised as he felt.
"Yes, Sir."
Devon stood again and stalked toward her. "I think there's something more to it than just sensitive nipples but I'll leave it alone for now. Have you ever been tied up or spanked before?"
"No!"
"But the thought of doing those things turns you on." He stopped in front of her. His words hadn't come out as a question but he appeared to be waiting for an answer.
She opened her mouth to deny it but slammed it shut again when his eyes narrowed. "Don't lie to me, Pet." She was wise enough to remain silent and he stared at her for a minute before speaking again. "I think I'm going to change our plans for this evening."
Her stomach dropped. "You're cancelling our date?"
Taking the index finger of his right hand, he reached up and set it on her left forearm. His touch was light as he trailed his finger down her arm toward her elbow, then further, touching her ear and neck. His eyes tracked the movement. From her collarbone, he followed the scoop-neck edge of her shirt, down to her chest over the swells of her breasts and back up to her right ear. Her breathing increased and her nipples had a mind of their own, pebbling into hard little nubs, begging for him to touch them.
"Oh no, Pet, not at all. I'm just going to add to it. We'll still go to dinner." He paused and her tongue shot out to moisten her dry lips. Heat flared in his eyes in response. "Mmmm. But afterwards, we'll come here and I'll give you the full tour as my guest. Since Marco ran a security check on you, it won't be any problem. I do have a few requirements though, since our plans have changed. I want you to wear the sexiest dress or skirt you own and no underwear. And I mean no panties or bra, Pet. You will go to dinner like that. If you disobey me on this, I'll take you into the women's restroom and remove them myself. Understood?"
Kristen was salivating, her panties were soaked. Was it possible to cum, while she was fully dressed, from a feather-light touch and his words alone? Her voice came out raspy. "Y-yes, Sir."
"And wear your hair down." He gave her pony tail a gentle tug. "I want you to read and understand the club protocols. You'll be expected to follow them, although I'll give you some leeway since this is new to you. If you have any questions, you may ask them at dinner. Last but not least, I want you to finish filling out your limit list."
Her eyes widened because he couldn't be serious. "But I thought guests weren't allowed to play without a physical and...and stuff." At his raised eyebrow, she added, "Sir."
His finger retraced its earlier path, down her neck, across her breasts and then back up again. "Correct. But by having you complete the list, I know what scenes I should let you observe. Now, before I let you go home to get ready for our...date, do you have any questions?"
She had more than she could count in the next hour or so, however she found herself saying, "No, Sir."
"Do you want to cancel our date?"
Did she? Absolutely not! "No, Sir."
"Good." He reached up and removed the restraints from her wrists. "I'll walk you to your car."
CHAPTER 6
"Try this one on. I think it will be perfect."
Kayla London took the little black dress from Kristen's closet and handed it to her as Will reclined on her bed, propped up on a few pillows. On the way home from the club, Kristen had called him in a semi-panic. He, in turn, had called Kayla. The woman was one of Will's closest friends and Kristen had clicked with her the first time they'd met. Will introduced the two of them a few months earlier when Kristen had traveled to Tampa to find an apartment before moving. Kayla and her wife, Roxy, had become her fast friends and although they teased her about it, they never tried to hook her up with one of their female friends.
After Kristen explained about her dinner date and where they were going after, the fashion forward duo had come running to her rescue. She had no idea what to wear. It had to be something appropriate for dinner and hide the fact she was not allowed to wear underwear, yet sexy enough for the club.
She was so nervous. Her stomach still had butterflies fluttering around which started the moment she realized Devon had shackled her wrists. He'd worn such a wicked grin as he watched her struggle with the restraints for a few moments before giving up. She had a feeling if she had panicked, he would have released her without question, but she surprised herself by only asking him to let her go one time. Then she'd become so focused on him and the tingling throughout her body, she'd pretty much forgotten she was being held hostage.
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