Five
Alex
I rubthe back of my neck. I could have handled the hotel room thing better but no way am I sharing with some random chick from Texas. Especially one as sexy as SJ is and one who focuses so hard on me. I swear I don’t make a move without her eyes on me. But that’s no excuse for being rude.
“Sit up here with Amy. Pierce and I can take the back row.” I hold out my hand to help her in. She hesitates and it kills me. I obviously hurt her feelings. Her fingers are chilled when she finally grabs my hand. I’m tempted to chafe them between my palms to warm her up. But I let her go and climb in behind.
Check in is smooth but we have a few hours before the club will open. I’d be fine watching TV and chilling out, but Stone orders us to show up for dinner. I swear, only my mama was as big a stickler for family dinners. A pang of longing careens through me leaving a shredded ache. I haven’t been at a my family’s dinner table in almost ten years. Amy and the guys are great, but they’re no substitute for my real family. I’m ashamed by my disloyalty to the people who have “found” me and provided as close to a family as possible. But I didn’t lose my family, they didn’t abandon me. I had to leave because of my own stupid choices.
Going to the club is less and less appealing. I gotta get my head out of my ass.
Dinner, a shower, and a short nap help. I’m something close to human when we climb into the van again. Cade, and Eliot pack in with us when we stop by their rental house. This giant van that seems like overkill when there are six of us riding in it shrinks to the size of a clown car. If clowns wore black leather and micro-mini skirts. Amy is sitting on Tyler’s lap. Not exactly kosher, but Eliot is the safest driver I know and we’re only a few blocks from the club. I wouldn’t mind having SJ on my lap. She must have borrowed on of Amy’s outfits, because, damn. Her legs are a mile long and her ass is stretching the shiny black fabric that barely covers her in a way that brings tears to a man’s eyes and steel to his dick.
The van is quiet enough that Tyler’s whispered promises are nearly understandable. Besides those two ratcheting up their coming scene with some dirty talk, the sexual tension is off the charts. The only one who appears unaffected is Stone. But that man’s feathers don’t ruffle. I’m pretty sure he could be in the middle of a tornado and he would just stand there while it veered to avoid him. I’m itchy to open my bag and check my equipment. The gear I keep in perfect condition. The carabiners clipped together by size. The rings in their own separate zipper pouch. The hanks I formed and sorted hours before we left the Sunflower. I rub my hands down my black jeans to ease the obsessive urge.
Pierce still works part-time at Pandora, so he takes lead on getting us into the club, chatting with the guy at the front. Each of us rattle off our names, Amy Davis, Tyler Davis.
“Alex Craig.” I point to my name on his members list, and flash my ID as I move inside.
Eliot Hughes, Cade Ramos, Stone. The guys rattle off their names as they follow me in.
SJ is the only nonmember guest, so she has to sign the agreement to follow the rules. Her hand shakes a little as she initials each rule, must be nervous about her first experience in a dungeon.
“We’ll meet you down there,” Eliot says. Cade and Pierce follow him to the elevator. After SJ finishes with her form, the ladies visit the locker room. Tyler, Stone, and I wait in the hallway, the anticipation building and keeping us silent. We left everything at the hotel room, except for the tool bags Tyler and I carry.
Finally we’re moving down the wide hallway to the freight sized elevator that will lower us into the Box. The thumping music hits low in my gut. I glance at SJ. The beat isn’t waking her up so much as rattling her bones. I’m pretty sure she’s feeling like a nervous hound in a thunderstorm. My hand twitches with my urge to reach out, but I hold back. As soon as the door slides open and the dark, cavernous space is exposed, Tyler grabs Amy’s hand and leads her directly to the spanking bench. Stone beelines for the table where Pierce, Cade, and Eliot are already chatting up a couple of women. This should be interesting.
SJ hasn’t moved a muscle to follow. My plan to let the one of the others, like Pierce, show her around isn’t going to work. I grit my teeth. “Can I give you the nickel tour?”
She whooshes out a breath and nods at me. I offer my hand and she hesitates before taking it. Her fingers were chilled before, now they’re ice cubes. Panic. If she was in my ropes, I’d be cutting her loose so she wouldn’t go into shock. We’re at the damn door and she’s losing her shit. I’m tempted to turn around and send her back to the hotel, but she steps off the elevator and turns to the right. “Show me everything.”
Little spitfire’s got gumption. I’ll give her that.
I lead her to the St. Andrew’s cross. A Domme is having fun with a naked male subbie who is bound facing the room but wearing a blindfold. She walks around him, checking his bindings, dragging her fingers lightly over his armpits and other vulnerable spots. It’s a wicked show of dominance without impact. She works him over with a feather wand, flitting randomly from spot to spot and occasionally lingering until her boy is twitching and begging. Based on his cock, he’s loving everything she’s giving him. She will probably move on to more intense sensations, but she has her sub’s entire attention right now. Exactly why I love my ropes.
I check our table. Stone is alone with one of the women that had been chatting with Eliot and the guys. Maybe she’d be willing to finish giving SJ the tour. I lead her toward the table. Stone waves us over when we’re still feet away. As soon as we reach them, Stone introduces the girl—she must be barely old enough to be at the club—as Cassie.
“Ma’am” I say automatically. And introduce SJ.
“Nice to meet you.” Cassie smiles, but it’s clear she’s nervous. Stone puffs up as if he needs to protect her from us. What’s that about?
When SJ doesn’t jump in, the conversation dies. My sister or my mother would have already been pulling out the chair nearest Cassie and asking intrusive questions. Cassie seems enthralled with Stone and SJ’s focus is still flitting around the club. I set my bag on an empty chair and rather than stand around awkwardly, I ask, “Ready to check out some more?”
SJ blinks up at me as if she forgot I’m here. “Sure.”
Over at one of the spanking benches, Tyler ties Amy in place. “Want to see some impact play? Tyler and Amy are about to scene.”
I take SJ by the shoulder and pivot her to face the right direction. Tyler lifts Amy’s skirt to bare her ass and delivers a warmup smack. SJ jerks in my grip.
“Um. Maybe not.” Her cheeks pinken and she turns her head away.
Interesting. I lean close to her ear and whisper, “Is it because you know them or is it the spanking? Does his hand on her ass make your pussy wet?”
Her blush deepens to match the red of her hair. She turns and her lips are nearly on mine. “Did you just ask me about my pussy?”
Damn. I did. I shouldn’t but I really want her to answer. I let the fire I’m feeling burn in my gaze. “Yes.”
Her mouth forms a perfect O and her eyes go wide. My cock loves that reaction. Let’s see what else gets her going. I grab her hand and head directly for the rigging stage. A couple I’ve seen before has the stage. Perfect. She’s a former dancer, ballet or something, and flexible as all hell. Her partner, lithe as she is and slightly older, moves around her, embracing her with his entire body as he weaves and knots his ropes. They’re beautiful to watch, but not at all instructional. His rigging appears like magic around her. I’m envious of the years they’ve had to work together to be so in sync that they look as natural as a flower blooming. That kind of partnership doesn’t happen with a single hookup—the only kind of play I let myself have.
