Total pages in book: 147
Estimated words: 140742 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 704(@200wpm)___ 563(@250wpm)___ 469(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 140742 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 704(@200wpm)___ 563(@250wpm)___ 469(@300wpm)
“You look ravishing,” he says, lifting my hand to his mouth and kissing the back of it, as he keeps his brown eyes on mine.
“It’s nice to see you again,” I respond, as I take my hand back and grip the chains of my purse with it. “Thanks for adding me to the list.”
“Of course.” He turns around and leads me inside.
Unsurprisingly, it’s a dark hallway. I can’t tell if the walls are dark red or black, but they’re lined with gold sconces that light the way until we reach the end. As we make a right, I start to hear music, and Leo informs me about the group and the fee I’ll have to pay if I decide to join.
“We were fond of Mallory, so your visit is our gift to you,” he says when we reach a lobby, similar to the one in Onyx, with BDSM-style photos on the walls. We stop in front of the hostess. “Heather, this is my friend. She’ll need to sign in and fill out a form.” He turns to me. “This may take a little while, so I’ll leave you to it and come get you shortly. We can have a drink, I'll explain things to you, and you can ask questions.”
“That would be great.” I smile. “I’ll just have someone tell me where to go and meet you there. I don’t want you to keep walking back and forth because of me. You’ve done so much already.”
“I’ll do much more if you want me to.” The way his eyes darken is almost imperceptible with the bright smile he gives me. “Heather will tell you where to find me.”
Somehow, despite how little that interests me and how uncomfortable it makes me, I manage to laugh as he walks away. This is a man who KNOWS MY STEPFATHER. Thankfully, he had the sense not to ask about him tonight. Otherwise, I would have either run away or thrown up. Or both. I turn to Heather with a smile, take the tablet she hands me, and have a seat on one of the black leather couches that’s sort of hidden from both doorways. My heart is in my throat the entire time I fill out the questionnaire.
I filled one out for Mallory’s birthday, that time, and Onyx still has it on record, but I barely paid attention to the questions then. I kind of skimmed, checked everything, and signed my name. Titus would have been so upset, but Tate read and summarized the contract for me, and I really didn’t care enough to pay attention.
This time, I’m reading each word and analyzing the phrasing, because this isn’t only Pearl’s waiver and NDA, this is also for the sex group “Voluptatem et Dolorem,” which I learn, after doing a quick search on my phone, means “Pleasure and Pain.” I take a deep breath and exhale. Fun times.
I look up when I feel Heather’s eyes on mine and smile. “I’m almost done, I think.”
“No rush. Take your time.” She smiles back. “I didn’t take you for the voyeur type.”
I bristle, gripping the stylus in my hand. My gaze drops to the questionnaire again, landing on “Do you like to get spanked?” Holy shit. How could I be so careless? I walked right by the line waiting to go into the nightclub portion of Pearl. What if someone saw me? What if they took pictures and posted them? My heart sinks. I’m an adult. I’m an adult, and I’m single. If I want to go to a sex club, I can go to a damn sex club.
“I don’t mean that in a bad way,” Heather says after I don’t say anything. I bring my gaze back to her now worried blue eyes. “I just … I’ve been following you for a while, and … oh my god, please forget I said anything.” She covers her face.
My shoulders slump. “It’s okay. I know you didn’t mean it in a bad way. It’s just, I mean, I don’t want people finding out that I’m here.”
“Oh god, I would never.” She lowers her hands with wide eyes. “I would never say anything. And we’ve all signed NDAs, and you will as well.” She nods at my tablet. “This is a safe space.”
I smile. “Thank you. But to answer your question, I’ve only been to one of these once, and I liked it. I didn’t participate, but I thought it was cool.”
She laughs. “It is cool, isn’t it? My girlfriend DJs here, and since she’s closer to the action, she gets home pretty…” Heather blushes. “Anyway, it’s a cool place to have fun.”
I laugh. “I bet.”
I go back to the questions. There are SO MANY questions about spanking. It’s not just a “yes.” It’s “yes” followed by “hands, paddles, or canes?” I’m so out of my element. I try to picture what Mal would have said here, and then smile when I think she’d probably say yes to everything. My smile fades. She should be here. She should be doing all of these things. I swallow, hoping tears don’t fill my eyes. Not now.