“No, we do have female members, and sometimes they bring along a new male partner, but it’s predominantly women who are our guests.”
“Much more fun for all you men then,” remarked Grace.
David turned so that he could look directly into her eyes. “Everyone gets pleasure from the dining trials. Sometimes people fail, or choose to stop something one evening, and then of course they’re free to go. They can’t come back to the Dining Club, there is only ever one chance to succeed at all the levels, but I promise you that women can get more pleasure here than they have ever imagined in their wildest dreams.”
“If they’d had wild dreams they probably wouldn’t need to come here,” retorted Grace.
David stood up and walked away from her. “I’m sorry if you feel like that. I truly thought you’d find it an intriguing premise. Rather like a series of short plays if you like, erotic ones of course, but fascinating for someone as creative as you.
“I also thought, sadly wrongly it would appear, that you cared enough for me to want to do this. Believe me, if you succeed, we will be closer than ever. There won’t be any secrets between us anymore.”
“I didn’t know there were before,” she pointed out, her voice trembling.
He sighed. “I realize that, and I regret it, but I had to be sure about us. It’s only because I care for you so much that I now want to be totally honest with you.”
Grace felt as though her whole world had been turned upside down. “I don’t think you understand how hurt I am,” she said softly.
He turned and looked at her, his eyes puzzled. “You mean my explanation hasn’t helped at all?”
“No, I understand that. What I don’t understand is why we have to do this when we were already so happy. We have a great sex life. You’re the best lover I’ve ever had, and we suit each other in almost every way. Stupidly it seems, I thought that would be enough for you. Why do you want to change things?”
His expression softened. Taking hold of her hands he pulled her to her feet and held her close to him. “I have to change things. We have been happy, but if you don’t want to share in this side of my life then no matter how hard I try to make it work out, I know I’ll get bored eventually. For me, the sex we’re having isn’t enough. It’s great sex, and I love seeing you in the throes of orgasms, and of course it’s good for me too, but I need more. We’re only touching the surface of my sensuality and, I believe, yours too.
“I’m sure that once you get into this, you’ll enjoy it. Think about how you felt earlier, here in this very room. Remember the way your body responded and how you reacted the other night in your flat, after you’d thought you were too tired for more sex.
“There’s a whole world of sexuality that you’ve never explored. You’ve never had the opportunity to discover the whole truth about yourself, and here you will. You won’t like everything, no one does, but you will find out what satisfies you the most, and in the end you’ll need it as much as I do. The more you explore your sexuality, the more things that you discover give you pleasure, the greater our life together can be.
“Trust me, we’re alike in this. I wouldn’t have brought you here if I didn’t believe that. The trials and tasks will take you to heights of pleasure you can’t even begin to imagine yet. What we’ve done together is only the start of an amazing sensual journey.”
She tried to pull away from him. “How can you talk about trials and tasks when you’re talking about sex? That’s not love.”
“Grace, it’s my kind of love,” he said quietly.
She knew that he was telling her the truth. This wasn’t merely a club where people changed partners and played out fantasies. For him at least it was a place of safety where he could be sure that the person he was with, and perhaps even wanted to love, shared his sexual tastes.
Realizing that this might well be the key to making him love her as she loved him, a terrible thought struck her. “What if you’re wrong about me? What if I fail because I don’t enjoy all these things you’re talking about—and right now I can’t imagine anything worse than having sex with strangers, not even the kind of sex I’m used to—what will happen to us?”
An expression of sadness crossed his face, and she realized she’d never seen him look sad before.
“You leave the Dining Club, and we part as friends,” he said softly. “We’ll have had some great times along the way, won’t we? But there wouldn’t be any point in keeping the relationship going, as it won’t be able to grow. Don’t worry though. I’m not wrong about you. Your body soaks up pleasure like a sponge. Now you’ll have the opportunity to experience ecstasy beyond your wildest dreams.”
His deep voice enveloped her like a cloak, but part of her knew that it was a cloak of darkness.
“I’m afraid,” she whispered against his chest.
His hands caressed her hair, his fingers stroking her scalp. “There’s nothing to be afraid of; I’ll be with you all the time. Even if I’m only watching, I’ll be there.”
Leaning back she looked up at him as his hands slid down into the small of her back. “But if I fail, it will be over for us, won’t it?”
“Yes,” he admitted reluctantly, “but I don’t want that to happen.”
“Neither do I,” responded Grace, shivering at the realization of what she’d just learned about this man she’d fallen in love with, and beginning to realize what lay ahead of her if she agreed to go through with the weekend in order to try and gain his love. “I don’t want to lose you,” she repeated, “but I’m scared.”
“Do it for me, Grace, for both of us. Trust me, you’ll never regret it.”
He fixed his eyes on hers, as though trying to see into her soul, and Grace stood motionless, struggling with conflicting emotions as she tried to decide whether she wanted to leave now, or stay and take part in what the Dining Club was offering: a dangerous journey of sexual self-discovery for the sake of love.
Look for
Bound
Part Two of The Dining Club
About the Author
Marina Anderson is the pseudonym of a British author. Her novels have sold over half a million copies worldwide and she is a Sunday Times bestseller.
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Contents
Cover
Title Page
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
About the Author
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Copyright
Copyright
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Copyright © 2013 by Marina Anderson
Cover design by Mary Ann Smith. Cover photograph by CulturaRM/Masterfile.
Cover copyright © 2013 by Hachette Book Group, Inc.
All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher is unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), prior written permission must be obtained by contacting the publisher at [email protected]. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.
This Forever edition is published by arrangement with Sphere, an imprint of Little, Brown Book Group, London, England
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First published in ebook serial in 2013 by Sphere
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ISBN 978-1-4555-7807-8
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