Leather & Lace: Trident Security Book 1 (10 page)

She found it odd he was working in a BDSM club yet not participating in the lifestyles and told him so.

The big man shrugged. "To each his own. Even though it's not for me personally, doesn't mean I find anything wrong with the lifestyle. Like I said earlier, at least I get to see a lot of pretty girls in hot outfits. And just when I thought I've seen it all, something happens that makes me laugh. It can be pretty entertaining working here."

"I'll bet. I'm glad you found a job you enjoy." Kristen watched as Tiny opened the doors to allow three women in various states of dress to enter the main club and found herself thinking she was a little overdressed. One woman was wearing a black leather mini-skirt and a matching bustier which left her midsection exposed. The shortest of the three had on a red satin and sheer teddy which stopped an inch above her knees while the last one wore a sheer black dress shirt over a bra and thong set. Two of them wore ballet-type slippers in place of shoes, while the blonde in the skirt had removed her slippers and held them in her hand, opting to go barefoot. Although two of the women were on the skinny side, the one wearing the teddy was a size or two larger than Kristen and she wondered if she would be as confident looking as the other woman, had she been wearing a similar outfit. After the door closed again, she looked back up at Tiny. "Do you miss playing football?"

He titled his head as if thinking about his answer before verbalizing it. "Yeah, I do sometimes. But unlike some guys who go pro, I knew I wasn't going to play forever. And when life hands you lemons..."

"You make lemonade," she finished the cliché for him.

"If you have a lemonade stand, little one, I'd be more than happy to stop by for a taste." A deep male voice startled her and she tensed before turning to find a strange man standing a little too close for her comfort although he wasn't touching her. "I'm sure anything you have to offer would be the sweetest of fruit."

She gaped at the man who was now devouring her with his gaze. This was what she had expected Master Mitch to look like when she met him. If she had to guess, the man was in his fifties with a pointed nose, narrow eyes and mustache. His black hair was graying at his temples and upper lip. Slender, he stood about six-foot even and he was dressed in a black dress shirt and leather pants with black boots. Never taking his leering stare off her, he addressed Tiny. "Tell me, Tiny, who is this gorgeous creature? I see she has a collar. I may have to challenge her Dom to a duel to win her favor."

Was this guy for real? She looked up to see Tiny smiling down at her and she relaxed only a fraction when he winked again at her. "Good evening, Master Carl. This is Ms. Kristen, a guest of Master Devon."

The older man sighed and frowned before he took a small step backwards. "Such a pity since he can kill a man in a number of ways, I'm sure. Master Devon is a lucky man, but please come find me when he removes your collar, girl. I would love to play with you for an evening. I guarantee I'd make it most enjoyable for both of us."

An involuntary shudder passed through her body as she watched the man disappear through the club doors. She didn't like how he'd said '
when
he removes your collar' instead of
if
and reached up to touch the thin band wrapped around her neck not wanting to think that this might be her only evening with Devon.

"Unless you're into a great deal of pain, you might want to avoid Master Carl. He's actually a nice guy but a sadist."

Kristen's eyes widened but before she could say anything in response to Tiny's comment, the doors next to him reopened and Devon stepped back out into the lobby. Her mouth watered at the sight of him. He'd changed out of his dinner clothes and was now wearing a tight black t-shirt which showed off his defined arms and torso. A pair of black leather pants hugged his lower body as if they had been painted on. Replacing a zipper, the crotch was laced up and showcased the large bulge behind it.

He grabbed her hips and helped her off the stool, pulling her close so their lower bodies made contact. "Ready?"

"I-I think so."

Tiny spoke up at the tremble in her voice. "She met Master Carl a minute ago."

Devon rolled his eyes knowing the sadist loved to intimidate new subs. "Wonderful." The sarcasm was evident in his voice but then he became serious. "Relax, Pet. You're safe with me. No one will touch you in there except for me. If you have any questions, just ask. And if something makes you uncomfortable, tell me. I won't be upset if something bothers you but I will be if you keep it from me. A major portion of this lifestyle depends on verbal communication between a Dom and sub."

The tension in her shoulders eased a little but she was still worried. "What if I make a mistake?"

He brought his hand up to cup her chin. "You're bound to make a few mistakes and so it's expected. Everyone in there was new to the lifestyle at one point and mistakes happen. Okay?"

When she nodded, he frowned and raised his brow. It took her a second to figure out what was wrong. "I mean, yes, Sir."

Taking her hand, he nodded at Tiny and started for the doors. "Besides, mistakes lead to punishment and punishment leads to pleasure for both of us...eventually."

Kristen's mouth dropped at his evil yet amused tone of voice. What was she getting herself into?

* * *

Devon stood next to Kristen at the balcony railing and watched her face as she took in the sights, sounds and smells of the club. Despite the early hour of nine thirty, the club was close to being full but due to the square footage of the building there was still plenty of room for members to walk around without having to fight their way through a crowd. Many of the activity stations in the pit were occupied and the sounds of spanking, flogging and ecstasy battled with the music filling the air. The beat of an instrumental version of the Rolling Stones' "Satisfaction" pulsed throughout the club. Ian had managed to find a company which made elevator music out of every possible genre. Wednesdays and Sundays the music tended to be sensual jazz. Thursdays leaned more toward punk, techno and Goth, while Fridays and Saturdays usually had classic rock mixed with heavy metal pouring from the hidden speakers. The genre was subject to change if they were having a theme night which was about once every two months.

When they first walked in to the bar area, several members had greeted them and he introduced the Doms and subs to Kristen. She'd been polite to everyone even though there were several times he knew she was trying hard not to stare at some of the states of undress. If they weren't used to it, people tended to have a difficult time talking to a naked or almost naked person's face while their private body parts were exposed. It was like being a virgin who'd never seen a nude body, walking through a nudist colony–you didn't want to stare but it was hard not to.

As he watched her try to look everywhere at once, he breathed in deep the aromas of leather, citrus and sex but it was the fresh, enticing scent of the woman next to him which held him captivated. He glanced around the upper floor and spotted several members of both sexes giving Kristen appreciative and interested looks. For the first time in his life he found himself fighting the emotion of jealousy which was running through his veins. He wanted to strip her naked right where she stood and fuck her like a wild beast staking the claim of its mate for the entire world to see. The thought of another Dom collaring her after he moved on to another sub like he always did, made his stomach clench in pain. These feelings were new and strange to him and he didn't like or know how to deal with them. He didn't do relationships and he'd nothing to offer her beyond an introduction to his lifestyle and a weekend filled with intense pleasure and orgasms. The rules may state they weren't allowed to play at the club, but he had every intention of taking her back to his place at some point soon where there would be no restrictions other than her hard limits. But the notion of sending her away at the end of the weekend felt like a hot poker to his chest.

He watched as her eyes widened at the screaming of a female sub cumming hard, somewhere in the pit below them. Her nipples were distended, pushing at the fabric of her dress and he could sense her arousal. He wanted to dip his fingers under her dress and run them through what he knew would be her soaked folds. It appeared his little pet was a voyeur and he couldn't wait to let her observe a few scenes tonight. While in the locker room, he'd looked over her soft and hard limit list and been pleased with most of her choices but he did have a few questions for her about them later.

Her tongue darted out to moisten her lips and he wished she was on her knees in front of him using that same tongue to taste and tease him. He was torturing himself with his fantasies of her and it took all his strength not to drag her off club property and fuck her silly. "Would you like something to drink? Since we won't be playing here, I can get you another glass of wine or would you prefer something else?"

"Water would be fine, please." The two glasses of wine she had with dinner was all she could tolerate and still be able to keep her wits about her. She wanted to be able to take in and remember everything she saw tonight so she could recall it all while writing tomorrow. She planned on letting Master Xavier and Rebecca have some wild monkey sex in the next chapter.

Devon stopped a bow-tied waitress walking by and grabbed two bottles of water from her tray. "Thank you, Cassandra," he said before sending the girl on her way again and handing one of the bottles to Kristen. "Bottles of water are the only beverages allowed in the pit. A lot of the subs walk around barefoot and we don't want them to risk being cut by any broken glass."

She looked down at her shoes. "Should I take these off?"

Taking her hand and leading her to the grand staircase, he smiled. "Usually I prefer subs to be barefoot but I love how sexy those killer heels make your legs look, so I want you to keep them on, unless they start to bother you." And yes, he was going to fuck her at some point while she was wearing nothing but those shoes.

He nodded at one of the security guards at the top of the stairs and pointed to Kristen's yellow bracelet before walking past the man. As the owners, Devon, Ian and Mitch were the only three people who didn't have key cards which needed to be checked before descending into the pit and Kristen's wristband indicated she wasn't allowed to participate in a scene.

Kristen and Devon descended the stairs and she held on to his arm on one side and the banister on the other. "I've always loved to wear high heels. I'm so used to them and can wear them for hours before I want to rip them off." She'd discovered designer Manolo Blahnik's shoes to be extremely comfortable, despite the height of the heels, and she owned a few pairs. They'd become her one major indulgence after the sales of her books had increased giving her a tidy savings account. It hadn't surprised her Tom never asked how much she had in the account, which was in her name only, since he couldn't imagine her books would ever be popular to the point she could live off the sales and still have money to splurge on a few indulgences. Boy, was he shocked during their divorce proceedings when he found out.

When they reached the bottom of the stairs, Kristen noticed a woman a few years older than herself, hurrying toward them. She was wearing a hot pink bra and short pleated skirt which were only a few shades lighter than her bright pink straight hair which fell below her shoulders. The petite woman stopped right in front of them and opened her mouth to say something to Kristen but then her eyes widened a fraction and she closed her mouth again. Turning toward Devon, she lowered her gaze to the floor. "I'm sorry, Master Devon, forgive my impatience. May I please have permission to speak to your sub?"

He smiled at the sub. "Permission granted and, by the way, happy birthday." He then looked at Kristen and nodded. She took it to mean she was also allowed to speak.

"Thank you, Sir." The pink-haired girl turned back to Kristen and began talking with exuberance. "Oh my gosh! You're her...you're you...you're Kristen Anders. I recognize you from your promo pictures."

Realization struck Kristen. "Are you Shelby?"

"Yes! I can't believe we're finally meeting. I mean we've been chatting online for so long I feel like we're already friends but it's so awesome to meet you in person."

She always enjoyed the online conversations with the Beta-reader but now she found she liked the woman even more. She had such a bubbly personality which made Kristen think of rainbows and puppies. "It's so nice to meet you and happy birthday. I can't thank you enough for putting me in touch with Master Mitch. He gave me a lot of information which will help me with my next book."

"I'm glad I could help. Did you start writing it yet? Who did you pick for the hero?"

Kristen laughed at her enthusiasm. Her Beta-readers had been trying to get her to nail down the lead character for
Leather and Lace
for several weeks now but she hadn't told them yet whom she chose. "The winner is Master Xavier."

Shelby squealed and clapped her hands like an excited child. "I knew it! I fell in love with him during the scene you had him do in the pool with Master Greg and Annette in
Satin and Sin
. He sounds like the ultimate dreamboat."

As the two subs talked, Devon looked up to see Brody approaching with a broad smile on his face. The geek was wearing his usual dark t-shirt with snug blue jeans and brown cowboy boots. He preferred the well-worn jeans over leathers, saying they were more comfortable having been born and raised in Texas ranching country. Stopping next to him, his friend clapped Devon on the shoulder.