Maisy's Keeper: Club Drift, Book One (The Club Drift Series 1)

by Saffron Hayes

  Instead she’d been faced with judgement and rejection from her family and she’d lost her lover as a result. She’d hurt Dan, that much was clear, but Maisy couldn’t find it in herself to be cross with either of them, not tonight. There’d been quite enough fire and fury for tonight.

  Chapter 33

  Airborne

  Maisy entered Drift with less of a spring in her step the next week. She was glad that Harry had persuaded her to return but knowing that she’d probably see Master Dan for the first time since they’d ended it last week made her insides do somersaults.

  And she’d have to get used to thinking of him as Master Dan again. Not Sir, not her lover, not - ugh - whatever he might have been.

  Still, she was here. She had the event coming up and if she waited any longer before coming back it’d be too strange and too painful to come at all, even to work. Claude was waiting in reception with Matilda when Maisy arrived.

  “Wow!” Maisy took in the mistress’s outstanding red leather catsuit. The bright colour contrasted gorgeously with her mahogany skin and her lips were painted bright red to match.

  “You see Claude? How can I be on reception duty all night if I look so good subbies pull that face?”

  Claude chuckled and Maisy realised she was gaping at the beautiful woman. Hell, maybe she’d see if Matilda wanted to use her for a demonstration of some sort, that was one way to avoid Dan. Sorry, can’t talk, busy being immobilised by an actual goddess.

  “Sorry Matilda, there’s no-one else for the first shift. Laura will take over at midnight.”

  Matilda gave a good-natured sigh and waved Maisy over to sign the attendance list. “Fine, fine, I’ll just entertain myself with scaring newbies.”

  She flashed a fiendish grin and Maisy was shocked to see fake pointed tips on her teeth. She’d have scared the hell out of Maisy if she didn’t know the Mistress was a warm-hearted and welcoming woman beneath all the costuming.

  “Stop staring and go inside, sub.” Her tone was harsh, but the wink she gave Maisy showed it was all in good fun. “I’m glad you came back to us.”

  Maisy smiled, hoping Matilda understood that all was forgiven, and hurried after Claude.

  “I’m glad you’re here, petite,” he said, “I must apologise again. You do not deserve the way I treated you.”

  Maisy kept her smile firm, “Water under the bridge, Claude. Really.” Her heart still stung from the events of the week before, but she was determined to find her place in Club Drift again and holding grudges was no way to do it.

  “Good,” Claude was visibly relieved, he really was sorry for what he’d done. “Would you like you to do a demonstration with William tonight?”

  “Oh, Claude, I don’t know. I was kind of counting on a quiet night what with, you know, everything.”

  Claude slowed and put his arm around her shoulders. “I understand your reluctance, but if you can find a way it’d help us out and, I hope, help you too.”

  “Help me?” They stopped as they reached the bar, Claude kept his conspiratorial closeness to her, his arm guarding her from the eyes of Club Drift.

  “It is my fault that you are only used to being around Daniel at the club. I am sorry for that. You and William have a friendship of sorts, yes? I had hoped you’d let him show you the ropes, if you’ll forgive my pun, as an easy way back into things. Think about it, yes?”

  Claude let her go so he could walk behind the bar. The trainees on duty were standing at the other end of the room gossiping, but it was early and a weeknight, so Claude didn’t bother reprimanding them. Maisy didn’t mind, of course, because who could resist a drink poured by the illustrious owner of Club Drift himself?

  He passed her a gin and tonic. She was touched that he remembered her favourite, but she really must tell them all she liked other drinks too.

  He leaned down on the oversized bar so they could hear each other speak from either side despite Maisy’s diminutive height. He might look a bit less noble doing so than the Master in Chief should look, but Maisy reasoned it served him right for putting the gargantuan bar up in the first place.

  “How have you really been, petite?”

  No-one on this Earth could lie to Claude when asked a direct question face to face. The customary, ‘I’m fine,’ died in her throat and she answered that question honestly for the first time all week.

  “I’m not doing great to be honest, Claude.”

  He nodded, “That is about as frank an answer as I can expect from the British, I suppose.”

  She grinned and, feeling like her Austen heroine namesake, said, “Such prejudice is unbecoming in you, Sir.”

  He grinned back, his pale blue eyes sparkling with humour, “You have not lost your wit, then? Good. So long as you have laughter, all will be well.”

  Her grin faded when Dan stepped out from the Bar’s utility area.

  Seeing him in the flesh was every bit as painful as she’d feared. He nodded at them, his expression inscrutable, then went to herd the waitstaff.

  Maisy took a long gulp of her gin and tonic and focused on the ice-cold sensation of the drink sliding down her throat, the aromatic scent of bitters, the spicy notes on her tongue - anything but the way her heart ached when Dan looked at her like she was a stranger.

  “Ready love?” William appeared from behind her, his usual relaxed smirk in place. Somehow though it wasn’t the same. He was still thinking about that horrible conversation in Claude’s office too, he had to be.

  She nodded and held out a hand, hoping he’d lead her away from the bar. She was sure that she’d cry if Dan looked at her in that detached way again.

  William looked at Maisy, then over to Dan, and scoffed. “Come on, pet.” As he led her to a booth she was sure she heard him mutter, “Pillock.”

  He sat facing away from the bar and pulled her in next to him. She was shivering a little, so he put an arm around her.

  Her friend William: the one who made them all laugh, the defender of subbies, the guy who got a little too excited about kicking arseholes out.

  That was why she liked coming here; people like William. She took a deep breath and really relaxed for the first time since she’d got there.

  “There’s brave Mistress Maisy,” William grinned and squeezed her arm and the sense of belonging that Drift usually gave her started to return.

  “Is Claude alright? He seems a little...reserved?”

  “Nothing for you to worry about, love. He’s just got an even bigger stick up his arse than usual.”

  Maisy snorted, there was nobody like William to take the stress out of a situation. “He feels bad?”

  William nodded tersely, “He does. Bloody right to and all.”

  Maisy wanted to look back at Claude to see if he was watching her, but she couldn’t stand coming face to face with Daniel again. Not yet. So she turned to the other anxiety in her immediate future.

  “Claude said something about a demonstration? Listen, I don’t want to do anything too involved, okay? Claude said I should do it, but I’m still feeling a bit edgy and-”

  “He didn’t say you had to, did he? Bloody hell, he is in a bad mood. He didn’t mean it, pet. You don’t have to do anything.”

  “No, no, not like that, I’d have left if I thought you’d make me do anything I didn’t want to do. He just thinks it’d be good for me and I’m inclined to agree, but nervous anyway.”

  “Fuck him. Do it if you want to, but not because he said so. I’m meant to be doing a rope demonstration to go over basic safety stuff with the newbies. You’ve got suspension listed as ‘want to try’ so we thought we’d see if you fancied it.”

  “Oh yeah, I did put that down, didn’t I?” Maisy glanced over her shoulder at the bar and saw Claude deep in conversation with Daniel. Oh, bloody hell.

  “Mistress Maisy,” William’s eyes were gentle when she turned to meet them, “Fuck both of ‘em, yeah?”

  She laughed, “Yeah. And I’d love to be your bunny for
the evening, Master William.”

  “Glad to hear it.” He pulled her closer so her head rested on his shoulder. “I’ll string you up real good and you’ll forget about the rest of it.”

  She sank into the friendly embrace and tried to forget that her Daniel was barely more than ten metres away. “Thanks William.”

  AN HOUR LATER SHE WAS questioning her sanity. Suspension looked fun from the outside, but it was absurdly intense to experience first-hand.

  She loved bondage, loved the freedom that came with having everything taken away, of giving the control to someone she trusted. Maybe that was the problem. She trusted William, liked him a great deal, but that electric zing that she’d experienced with Dan just wasn’t there.

  Maybe it was because he wasn’t Daniel or maybe it was just because she knew this was just going to last the evening, but she couldn’t get her head in the right space.

  William knew it too. He adjusted a loop and showed a newbie Dom how he’d redistributed Maisy’s weight, taking the tension off a potential problem area. Then he ran a hand through Maisy’s hair to give it an affectionate tug. “Comfy pet?”

  “Mmhmm.” She gave him a warm smile and wriggled in her bonds, showing him how effectively he’d tied her. “Good job, Sir!”

  “I know that, love, but I’ve missed your mind completely, haven’t’ I?”

  Maisy bit her lip, knowing that lying to a Drift Master was a hanging offence.

  He laughed and pulled lightly at the rope at her chest, causing her to sway gently, “It’s alright, Mistress Maisy. I won’t take offence, I know you’re not the instant submission type.”

  “It’s really not you, Sir.”

  “I said I know, pet. Don’t fret. You can stop the demonstration if you’d like, I’d hate to keep a sub bound when she’s not getting anything out of it.”

  “No! No it’s fine. I feel like I’m helping out and it’s...nice.” Truth be told, if she could stop thinking about Daniel for five minutes she might have really enjoyed it. William was an extremely commanding presence as well as a massive flirt and he really knew his way around ropes. She felt like a baby in a sling up there in the air.

  “Right then,” William nodded, apparently satisfied. He turned away to answer an enquiry from a softly spoken Domme. Her mousy sub eyed Maisy with curiosity.

  After a moment, the sub approached William, spurred on by her Domme. His eyes lit with mischief.

  “Be nice!” Maisy hissed. He turned to roll his eyes at her before turning back to the small woman who was stealing herself to speak.

  “Excuse me, um, Master William, was it? Can I... I mean, if you don’t mind...” William held his hand out and the woman took it instinctively.

  Maisy saw the Domme quirk an eyebrow, then suppress a laugh as William bent to whisper in the sub’s ear. The mousy woman squeaked and pulled her hand away, then scurried over to Maisy. William approached the Domme, know-it-all tutor mode clearly engaged. The man was insufferable...

  “Sorry about him,” Maisy said, as the blushing sub reached her.

  “He’s...intense. I don’t know how you let him...you know. I’d just melt.”

  Maisy laughed, “Fortunately for me I’m not his. He’s all bark and no bite though, honest.”

  The woman looked doubtful. “I just wanted to ask you what it feels like up there, does it hurt?”

  “Oh, no! It was getting uncomfortable on this side earlier, but I told him and he fixed it. If you’re getting strung up by someone who knows what they’re doing it’s really quite comfy.”

  “And...well, how does it feel?”

  Maisy knew what she was asking, but she wasn’t sure what answer to give her. She knew that if she’d been tied up by someone she connected with, someone who cared about her, who she submitted to eagerly, she’d have been hypnotised by his movements, turned on by every loop, every second as the freedom was taken away, but with William it was just a demonstration. Fun, but not exactly mind blowing, especially not with how distracted she was.

  “Hey, why don’t you two come to the workshop on Thursday night? Then you can try it for yourself.”

  “Yeah, maybe. See you,” she looked unsatisfied, but she went back to her Domme. William said his goodbyes and left the women deep in conversation.

  “Behaving yourself?”

  “Only as much as usual,” William grinned back at her. This was okay. With friends like William and dozens of interesting people coming in every week, Maisy would find a place here again. Maybe seeing Dan would stop hurting after a while too.

  Chapter 34

  Heist

  Maisy stretched her shoulders again, “You owe me a massage.”

  William laughed and passed her another gin, “I’ll get Carl right over. Did he tell you he’s a qualified masseuse?” Maisy shook her head. “Strange. He tells me at least twice a week.” He flashed a cocky grin which made her laugh. The man could make anyone feel at ease.

  “Thanks William,” Maisy said, “That was a good thing to do first time after... I appreciate it.”

  “No worries, Mistress,” He came back round to her side of the bar and pulled her into a firm hug. “We look after our own, yeah?”

  “Yeah,” She mumbled into his t-shirt.

  “Enjoying yourself, William?” A terse voice interrupted their friendly embrace.

  Maisy jumped back, the warm feeling of safety and kinship vanishing at the sound of Dan’s voice. Anger welled up inside her. How dare he? He’d shoved her out of his life last week without so much as a by-your-leave and now she’d managed to come back and enjoy herself with her friends he was being a jealous arse about it? How dare he.

  “Excuse me a moment, William,” she said, her voice as calm as the waters of a frozen lake.

  William glanced between them. He took the measure of Maisy’s tone and stern expression and, reasoning that she was more than capable of dealing with this herself, stepped back behind the bar.

  “You absolute arse.”

  Daniel was lost for words, “I’m sorry?”

  “Do you really think that I’d let what other people think effect how I feel about you?” Daniel blinked, like he’d been expecting her to say something very different.

  “It’s not that, it’s just that-”

  “I am not Alicia.”

  He froze mid-sentence, “How...”

  “Claude told me. You don’t even know my family and you obviously don’t know me very well. Did it ever occur to you that Alicia was a complete shit for not standing up for you?”

  He stepped back like her words had punched him in the chest.

  She continued, too furious to hold back, “You need to stop beating yourself up for something that was never your fault. Christ, I thought you were brighter than this.”

  He was silent and, although his eyes held no rebuke, he looked pained.

  “Sorry. No, actually, not sorry. Somebody needs to tell you that you’re being a complete-”

  “Pillock,” William said, from the bar.

  “Piss off,” Maisy said at the same time as Dan said, “Fuck off, William.”

  “You have been a pillock though,” Maisy said, more gently this time. “Her family didn’t understand kink, right? It happens. This looks weird from the outside. But instead of defending it, or you, or just explaining anything she lets them think it was all your idea and makes you look like an abusive creep? That’s not a problem with her family finding out, that’s a problem with her being spineless and not caring about you.”

  Daniel shook his head

  “I’m sorry, I know I’m being mean, but I’m so bloody angry with you, with her, with her family, with this whole stupid situation.”

  “It’s okay.”

  “It’s not okay, Daniel. It’s really not okay. I didn’t even find out what the issue was from you, you know? I had to rely on second hand gossip to even get an idea why you’d hurt me like that.”

  His expression hardened, “Maisy, I swear, I never mea
nt to hurt you.”

  “Of course you hurt me, you...” Maisy took a deep breath and blew it out slowly through pursed lips. “It’s fine. I understand.”

  “You don’t understand. It was – everything was so right and then it was like I was an abuser, a criminal, dirt on their shoe. You don’t understand what it is to have somebody you love look at you like that.”

  “No?” Maisy looked Daniel up and down and shook her head. “No. I suppose I don’t. I think it’s time for me to leave. And don’t you dare have a go at me or William or anyone for being friends. You have no right.”

  “Don’t go, alright? I’m sorry I’ve made such a mess of things, but I’m really just trying to make everything easier on you.”

  Maisy laughed, a cold sad laugh that didn’t reach her eyes, “Well, thanks so much for that.”

  “Maisy-”

  “No. You’re just a coward with a half-decent excuse. Stay away from me, Daniel.”

  LATER, DAN GLOWERED at the young Domme who’d spoken. “What?” He snapped.

  “Jesus, Dan, I just asked for a glass of red.” She gave him a look that could wither a bouquet in seconds.

  Shit. “Sorry, Chloe, don’t mind me. Distracted.” He poured her a glass of the pricey stuff before turning his attention back to the door to reception.

  Maisy had been gone for a while now, but he kept expecting her to walk back into the bar.

  “Daniel.” The owner’s soft voice interrupted Dan’s raging inner monologue.

  “What do you want, Claude?”

  “May I have your armband?” Claude asked gently.

  “Why? Oh. Saw that, huh?”

  “I heard Chloe asking people what had – uh – ‘crawled up your butt and died.’”