“Madame Scarlett will stuff and blister you if she hears you call it that.” Kimmy offered the bowl to her.
Sophie leaned in and plucked a numbered black chip from the pile. She looked at Claudia and Violet. “I don’t know how to play poker.”
“Oh no. This is the fun part tonight. If you don’t have someone in mind or want to spin a game of chance, you’ll be paired up and see where the chemistry takes you. It’s how I met Brandon last year.”
Claudia’s on-again, off-again boyfriend, Brandon, was as hot as he was a hot mess. The two of them hadn’t been able to find a way forward as of late.
“I’m not sure that’s as promising as you think it is.”
Aiden
Aiden Mackay parked his sports car in the underground parking at Surrender, bypassing the VIP entrance.
He had every right to use it, but it wasn’t in his nature to flaunt or abuse his status, even as a part-owner.
Aiden scanned his ID card and headed up to the business suite. He knew his best friend and business partner, Zack, would be hiding away as the club filled for the evening.
He pushed open the door and was met with the distinct smell of cigars and sex. Zack was sitting in a side chair, his nose buried in a book, a tumbler of liquor in his other hand. What caught Aiden's attention was the submissive, gagged, and bound woman beneath Zack's feet, who remained still at Aiden's arrival.
Her eyes were closed, and streaks of makeup from crying stained her cheeks. Aiden recognized the sub as one from the Dollhouse. Her blonde hair was pulled back into a high ponytail, and she was naked to reveal the welts that darkened her pale skin across her thighs and buttocks.
The Dollhouse was a newer venture they started over a year ago, where uncollared submissives could choose to be a ‘doll’ for the night. It was mostly used by those with darker urges who preferred to remain unattached. Zack's dark eyes glanced toward Aiden, and he tipped his glass in acknowledgment of his arrival.
Shrugging off his jacket, Aiden fixed his collared shirt. “Are you coming down to the pit tonight? The last party was six weeks ago. You know subs will line up…”
Zack grunted and recrossed his ankles. Resting them on the submissive's back. “I'm fine.”
“No, you aren't. You've been more closed off and broody lately, so I took matters into my own hands, brother.” They started as friends and became family over the past two and a half decades since their first meeting in college.
Closing his book, Zack fixed Aiden with a hard stare. “What did you do?”
“We haven’t had quality control in a while, so we’re testing out the lottery.”
“Please tell me I heard you wrong. Why?” Zack placed his feet on the floor and reached down to unbuckle the gagged submissive. Grabbing her chin, he pulled her closer and kissed her forehead in dismissal. “Go.”
She unfolded herself gracefully and grabbed her robe from a corner chair, making a quiet exit.
Zack stood and buttoned his jacket. He walked over toward the bar table in the far corner. “Why did you throw us in without telling me?”
“Because it’s time to shit or get off the pot.”
“Eloquent. Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?”
“No, only yours.” He grinned. “Lots of tongue.”
“Why are we still friends?”
“Because I have a great office with imported scotch.”
“Touche.” He took the glass from Zack. “Why do we have to participate in this?” He wasn’t looking for a new submissive. Neither of them was.
Happy and content to play with minimal notice with Cora when the time worked for the three of them. The first rule of their agreement was that there would be no attachments.
Content to play together and apart was part of the dynamic. Jealousy wasn’t something either of them had with each other. Aiden was content to focus more on the submissive and their emotional well-being in the scene. Zack was hard, unyielding, and his presence in a scene could bring any sub to their knees.
A feeling Aiden wasn’t immune to.
“Because it’s nice to see what we’ve built from outside theboredroom.”
