“You can sit with me, Aspen,” Jenna offers with a soft smile. “I’m new to all of this, too, and to be honest, I’m a bit nervous. It would be great to have a new friend up there with me.”
Am I really going to do this? I can tell myself all I want that I ended up here by chance this evening, but in truth, on some level, I wanted to come. Working the kitchen with Ryder has been torture, and I’m still so angry at him, but I can’t deny that he’s gotten under my skin. He’s on my mind every waking minute.
I’m so angry that he’s taking my autonomy away as an escort, but I love that he’s protective enough to care. I don’t know if there can be a balance in this lifestyle, but part of me—a tiny sliver—wants to see if it’s possible.
“I haven’t been outside of this bar. I don’t know what to expect. Ryder never showed me around.”
“Would you like a quick walkthrough?” Genevieve offers.
“If you have time.”
“Follow me.”
Jenna links her arm through mine. “We’ll do it together.”
“Thank you.” As Genevieve walks us through the luxurious bar area, she starts explaining.
“Any sexual activity and nudity are strictly prohibited in the bar. It’s the safest place to spend time if you don’t want to see everything.”
Jenna and I follow her down a dark hallway with doors on either side each marked with innocuous gold numbers.
“This is the private hall. All Dominants have their own playroom. For all intents and purposes, they are our bedrooms. We have all of the furniture we like to use, equipment, and toys. It’s where we can both punish and pleasure in private.”
She stops outside door number six, swipes a keycard before opening it, and ushers us inside.
My breath catches at the sights and smells of this decadence. There’s a massive bed with crisp white bedding—not what I expected. There is a big wooden cross of some sort on the adjacent wall with chains in each corner.
“What’s that?”
“It’s a St. Andrew’s cross. I shackle my submissive to it for punishment.” I audibly gulp.Punishment. Is that what Ryder does to women? “Don’t worry, Aspen, they enjoy it.”
“I don’t understand. Why would someonewantto be punished?”
“Because the reward after is so much sweeter. There’s a fine line between pain and pleasure. It is my duty as a Mistress to adhere to the boundaries set by any submissive in my care.”
“So, they can say they don’t like something?”
Jenna wanders over to a wall full of canes, whips, and other stuff I’ve never seen before, trailing her fingers across them.
“Did I say you could touch anything, Jenna?”
“No, ma’am.”
“You will both address me as Mistress when in my room. Understood?”
“Yes, Mistress,” we say in unison.
She returns her attention to Jenna. “If you were my submissive, you’d be punished for that.”
“What would you do?” she says with a shyness that betrays her air of confidence.
“Probably use that short crop on your ass. You’d turn a pretty shade of pink with ten lashes.”
A thrill courses through me at the thought of it, butterflies taking flight in the pit of my stomach. “That sounds…”
“Hot.” Jenna laughs.
“Is that weird?” I ask, knowing she’s in the same boat as me. Vanilla as hell.Maybe.
