After the call ends, I stand in the kitchen for a moment, holding my cell and thinking how I’ll tell Jake I just roped him into staying at a job he isn’t comfortable with. I give a deep sigh, steel my resolve, and walk to his bedroom.
He’s laying in bed in nothing but his underwear and his burly chest, lightly peppered with red hair, is exposed. I drink in the curves of his thick muscle before I approach and speak.
“Looks like the decision has been made for you.”
He squints at me and frowns. “Excuse me?”
My voice is shaky when I speak again. “Dom Luke just called. He wants you and I to perform at his sex club tomorrow night, and I’ve just accepted his offer for both of us.”
***
Surrender To His Lust
“You did what?” Jake’s green eyes burn a dark emerald with his anger.
“I told Dom Luke you and I would be happy to perform at his sex club tomorrow night.”
Jake Black, my best friend and the man who rents the apartment above the garage of my Cape Cod style home, has only been working for my new boss Dom Luke Wesley one day and already he wants to quit. Dom Luke is an eccentric sex toy inventor for Surrender Inc., an exclusive sex club and resort franchise that caters to elites and anyone who can pay the entry fee to one of their establishments. Jake isn’t happy about me working for Dom Luke either. He sees sex work as something that’s always predatory and shouldn’t be profited from. Dom Luke and I have different viewpoints on the matter.
“I’m not going.” He sticks his bottom lip out and pouts like a little kid.
“You have to!” I plead, knowing he needs the money as much as I do. I’m a single mom with two boys to feed and a old house to repair. Jake is a carpenter whose work has been slow as of late.
“I don’t have to do anything for that perverted bastard,” he says, jumping off his bed and heading to the door that leads from his small apartment into the garage.
“He’s not perverted,” I yell after him as he storms down the stairs. “He’s got a very healthy attitude toward sex experimentation. You could learn something from him. I already have.”
This stops him. His hand freezes on the scuffed, gold painted doorknob and he whirls on me with a dark scowl. “Yeah, he taught me a lot all right. Taught me that I don’t know you at all.”
And with that he storms out of the apartment, opens the garage, gets into his beat up car, and drives off, kicking up clods of mud as he roars away from the house.
I pad back inside the house, hoping the kids haven’t been woken up by our argument. Fate smiles on me this time, for I find them sleeping snugly in the bunk beds that occupy their room. I breathe a sigh of relief as I quietly close the door then head to the kitchen to think and make a cup of tea.
If Jake really plans on quitting his new job testing sex toys, and now performing in sex clubs, then I have to prepare an explanation for Dom Luke. And who knows if Jake will babysit the kids while I go perform as planned. Since it’s a nighttime engagement at the sex club, the kids won’t be in school, so in case Jake doesn’t pan out I decide I’ll ask Mrs. Granger across the road to look after the boys for me. Now I’ve just got to come up with a reasonable explanation for needing her, since I can’t exactly tell her I’m working for a British dom who’s part of the sex industry.
When I go to bed, Jake still isn’t home. Preston, my youngest son, wakes me up five minutes before the alarm goes off.
“Where’s Jake?” he asks, his brown eyes big and worried.
I grab my robe from the end of the bed and put it on, smooth a wave of hair from my youngest’s forehead. “I’m not sure, sweetie. He’s … a bit angry with mom.”
“He’s coming back, though, right?” Preston grabs the hem of my robe and tugs on it briefly, like he did when he was a baby and something worried him.
I kiss the top of his carrot red hair. “I’m sure he’ll be back, kiddo.”
“Why’s he mad at you?”
I sigh as I walk out the bedroom and head toward the kitchen to make coffee. Preston trails after me.
Finally, I tell him, “Jake doesn’t like our new boss. He’s taking some time to adjust.”
Preston frowns and his tiny freckled brow scrunches up as he sits at the table. “Mr. Wesley? The guy that came here the other day, right?” He hops down from his chair to come help me make toast.
“Yeah. What did you think of him?” My children are very perceptive, and if they don’t like someone I’m leery of that individual too.
He taps his chin with the butter knife as he thinks about this, then he shrugs. “I thought he was awesome. Michael thinks he’s pretty cool. And, I mean, it’s because of him I get to play hockey and Michael gets to take art classes. That’s wicked!” Now he wears a wide grin that shows his two missing front teeth.
His joy is infectious and I grin at him. “So you’re okay with mom working for Mr. Wesley?”
“Oh, yeah!” He snags the piece of golden brown bread that pops up from the toaster. “It’s the best job you’ve had ever.”
I’m so grateful he doesn’t know exactly what I do, but I’m glad he and Michael are pleased. I’ve already got someone coming in to fix the roof this week, and Preston starts hockey Friday. Michael is taking graphic art classes after school, and his first class starts Thursday.
“Maybe Jake is just mad cause he knows Mr. Wesley likes you a lot,” Preston pipes up, carrying a plate full of toast to the table as he does so.
“What makes you say that?” The back of my neck burns with apprehension and curiosity. Sometimes my children are too perceptive for their own good.
“Oh, come on, Mom.” Preston waves a hand that doesn’t hold toast and rolls his eyes at me. “It’s so obvious Mr. Wesley has the hots for you.”
Do kids even say “hots” these days? I wonder as I almost choke on my coffee. That’s my boy. Always coming up with the strangest sayings, and I have no idea where he gets them from. Just at that moment, Michael shuffles out of his bedroom, scratching his mop of curls and mumbling “Good morning.”
“Well, Jake will just have to stop being jealous,” I say, grabbing some oranges from the fridge and slicing into them. “And Luke Wesley does not have the hots for me. He’s just a very nice boss.”
The boys look at each other and smirk. Preston hands Michael a piece of toast and says, “Sure, Mom. Whatever you say.”
After we finish up breakfast, Jake still hasn’t returned. Now I’m starting to worry. I call some of his friends, his mom who lives out in the country, but no one has seen him. And I’ve got to be at work late tonight, since the sex club engagement is a night time affair, so who will watch the kids? Even if Jake was here, if he still planned on working the gig tonight with me then I’d need a babysitter. Once the kids get out of school, I lose my free childcare for the day.
I’m too proud to call Dom Luke Wesley and cry to my new boss again for help. He’s already ensured my house will be fixed and my kids will get some of the stuff they want. So I decide to ask my next door neighbor, Mrs. Granger, if the kids can sleep at her place tonight. I have no idea what time I’ll be home, and she has done this for me before. However, if there are going to be more nightshifts like this, I’ll need to hire a nanny or something. I can definitely afford it with what Dom Luke is now paying me.
So after the kids are out of school, and Jake still hasn’t shown up yet, I head over to Mrs. Granger’s tiny gingerbread home to ask a favor.
The elderly woman isn’t known as one of the friendliest people on our block, but she’s taken a liking to me and the kids, even though her idea of showing affection generally means throwing out wisecracks and harmless barbs. She rankles a lot of the other neighbors because of this, but I’ve come to learn she just wants some company and a good verbal sparring partner.
She shuffles to the front door after I ring the bell and takes her time in opening up, even though she’s obviously seen its me on the stairs. With a scowl, she gives me a slow p
erusal after pushing her glasses up her bulbous nose.
“What do you want?” she grumbles, a small grin tugging at the corner of her lips. Her snarky old lady mode is a game she plays to chase off anyone who isn’t willing to put up with her cantankerous nature.
Not missing a beat, I shoot back. “A summer house in the Bahamas and a hot man on each arm, but a favor from you will do.” I cringe a bit inwardly, thinking how close to home I’ve hit with the hot man on each arm quip.
She lets out a cackle and good-naturedly swats at my arm. “Coffee’s on. You want a cup? Where are the boys?”
I point to the high wooden fence that surrounds my backyard. “Ruining my grass with their hockey sticks. What else is new? And I’d love some coffee.”
She waves a hand as she walks away from the open door. “Get yourself in here then.”
Over a steaming mug of java, I pop the question. “Edith, could I ask you a huge favor?”
She sips at her brew before saying, “I knew this wasn’t just a gesture of goodwill.”
I hold my hands up in surrender. “No, you got me. I came with ulterior motives.” Leaning closer, I try to put on my best pity me face. “I’ve started a new job, but I have to work the late shift tonight and I have no one to look after the kids. Could you do it?”
Her smirk widens, and I can tell she knows more than I’m probably comfortable with. “New job, eh? This wouldn’t have anything to do with that sexy, rich guy who drove up to your place in a Rolls the other day, would it?”
I try not to choke on my mouthful of coffee as I nod. “He’s my new boss.”
She waggles her eyebrows. “I bet he is.” Then she pauses as she puts her flowered mug on its saucer. “What about Jake? He usually watches the kids. Everything okay?” I see genuine concern on her lined face.
I squirm and fumble for an answer, not wanting to get too deep into what’s going on between me and my best friend. “He’s … not happy about my new job,” I blurt out before I can stop myself. “It’s complicated, but he left last night and he hasn’t come back yet.”
Edith Granger reaches over and rubs my shoulder. “A jealous man needs time to cool off. Don’t worry, hon.” She gets up and grabs the coffee pot to give us both refills. “He’ll be back. And bring the boys over around 7 pm. I’m making peach cobbler. They can have dessert with me.”
I smile and thank her, giving the old curmudgeon a hug she pretends not to want.
“Have fun with your new boyfriend tonight,” she chirps as I get up to leave.
“He’s not my boyfriend, Edith.”
“No, but he must be paying you some nice cash. Preston told me all about the fixing you’re doing to the house, that he and Michael are getting goodies.” She turns and winks at me. “You must be a helluva employee.”
I shake my head at her and elaborate no more before I leave to get ready for tonight’s performance. I just wonder what Jake confided in our old neighbor before he left.
***
When I arrive at work, Dom Luke Wesley is not impressed. He’s sitting behind his desk, expensive Gucci loafers planted atop it. He places a finger against his lips and watches me like a panther watches its prey as I walk in. His scowl remains as he stands, revealing immaculate pinstriped pants, a crisp, ruffled white shirt, and a silky purple waistcoat with a faint argyle pattern sprinkled over the material.
“Where’s my other employee?” he asks, an authoritative tone to his voice.
“I’m sorry. Jake backed out on us,” I explain, not meeting his eyes as I sit and let my shoulders sag. “I haven’t seen him since last night.”
When I look at his face, it has softened. He shrugs. “Not a problem. We don’t need your temperamental boyfriend anyway.”
“He’s not my boyfriend!” I shout louder than I mean to, and Dom Luke’s eyebrows shoot up.
“Doth protest too much,” he drawls with a smirk. “Nevertheless, we can improvise just fine without Jake. Are you ready to go?”
I nod.
“Excellent.” He moves around the desk like a lithe cat, takes my arm, and urges me to stand then walk toward one of the rooms in his massive office. “Your outfit is all laid out in room number three. Get changed and we’ll be off, my dear.”
I slip into a tight fitted black corset lined in red lace, a matching thong, and fishnet stockings. A pair of shiny stilettos and a silky black cape finish off my costume. When I join Luke again, he raves over how lovely I look.
Blushing slightly, I wave him off. “You only say that so your employee will perform well.”
He clucks his tongue at me. “Nonsense.” Then he takes my hand and kisses it. “I mean every word that leaves my lips.”
As we drive to his sex club, I ask questions, but he merely grins that damnable, sexy grin and says telling me will spoil all the surprises he has in store. He’s exasperating, Dom Luke, but intriguing and enchanting all the same. I feel my heart do that flutter thing again when I look at him. A sensation I haven’t felt since Colby. Well, if I’m honest, I’ve felt it for Jake in the past, also, but I haven’t really admitted it to myself until this moment. I sigh, thinking what a tangled web life can become.
“You know, we should really get you a nanny,” Luke says just as we pull into a huge underground parking lot that is beneath his massive sex club. “Particularly if the ginger isn’t coming back, you’ll need someone to watch the kids while you work these late shifts.” He turns that foxlike grin on me again.
“It isn’t nice to call him a ginger,” I admonish him, though I’m chuckling as the words leave my lips. “And, yes, I was thinking I’ll need a backup babysitter.”
He waves a hand as if that’s all it takes to answer all my problems. “Consider it done. I’ll send someone around soon for you to interview. She’s a fine lady. She’s worked for some of my friends before. I’m sure the boys will love her.”
I can’t help but smile wide at him and feel great gratitude. If I believed in saviors, he’d qualify for the rank in my life right about now. “Thank you.”
He gets out and strides over to my side of the car to open the door for me. “Think nothing of it, Carrie. You’re my employee, but you’ve also become a friend. I take good care of both in my life.”
“I feel the same way,” I confess, looking deep into those icy blue eyes, which show warmth now. “I barely know you and you’ve helped me and the kids so much. I can’t thank you enough.”
He wraps an arm around my cape clad shoulders and leads me to an entrance cordoned off by red rope, holding back a huge line of people. “You thank me by doing wonderful work, by being a true professional.” The dom plants a quick kiss to my forehead. “I value that greatly.”
One of the two massive bouncers wearing black cargo pants and tight black t-shirts unfastens the rope and steps aside to let Dom Luke and I in. Luke tips his head at the man and I see him place a wad of cash into the bouncer’s hand.
Inside I find the club is a massive, circular place with strobing, colorful lights and an upper floor that holds a wraparound balcony. People in masks and costumes hang over its dark, carved railings, hooting and cheering, kissing and groping. There are men and women in feathery boas on a dance floor that sparkles like glass. A glittering disco ball that looks to be the size of a chandelier swirls above them, casting down ghostly spheres of light that flitter over the white and black walls.
As we walk, I spy people on red and black couches writhing in erotic ecstasy. On a raised stage at the back of the dance floor, a woman, naked except for the silvery half mask she wears, goes down on another woman in a velvety cat mask. She licks every inch of the woman’s mocha, sweat-beaded skin before she flicks the tip of her tongue beneath her clit hood.
Past the dance floor and bar, near the back in a room under the balcony is where we are headed. A pair of onyx, arched doors with golden decorative handles open up before me and I’m led inside. People file in behind us, taking seats in the theater style chairs that line this lar
ge, round room. There is a round stage in the center of all these chairs that rise up in an amphitheater style, giving the crowd a 360 degree view of the circular platform at its apex.
On top of this rounded stage sits a gigantic sphere on a glass-like pedestal. Two stainless steel tables sit close by the sphere, and I can tell from here they are laden with toys for tonight’s performance. I also note, as I walk to the stage, that the room is filled with huge television screens that loom from the rafters above.
Dom Luke leads me to the stage and I feel fear, anxiety, tickle its way up my spine. Every set of eyes in this place is on us, watching, waiting, anticipating. I try not to lose my nerve and run out screaming.
My dom explains the night’s performance to me as we ascend the few narrow stairs leading to the translucent bubble that awaits us on the stage. “This is one of my latest creations,” he tells me proudly as he gestures to the apparatus. “I call it the Pleasure Dome. You will be the first one to try it out with me tonight, other than private test runs I did while I was perfecting it.”
Up close, the bubble is quite beautiful. It has a translucent oval door he opens to guide me inside. There are many small vents and gray arms inside and out. A mechanism similar to the one I found myself tied up in at my last day of work, when Jake first joined me, sits in the center of the bubble.
“See the cameras?” He points to tiny black mechanical eyes inside and out. “Those, and the microphones we have in here, will pick up every nuance, every detail, of your performance.” He walks up behind me, wraps his arms around me, and feathers a kiss across my neck. “Are you afraid?”
I shiver and try to ignore the humiliation that burns my cheeks as he undresses me before the crowd. “A little.”
He kisses my cheek tenderly. “Don’t be. Remember our safe words. Green for go, yellow for slow down, red for stop. If you feel uncomfortable, you have only to say and I’ll stop. I won’t be disappointed in you.”
Though his crystal eyes tell me he means this, I don’t want to wimp out anyway. I want to perform and please him, as well as myself. Heaven help me, but I realize in that moment I may be falling in love with this strange and beautiful man.
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