After Xander had signaled for Carson to make it to their final destination, he helped Mercedes right her dress, effectively hiding the nipple clamps. He hadn’t particularly wanted to, but he’d been under the impression she needed a minute.
As soon as the limo came to a stop in front of Devotion, Xander eased out into the stifling evening air and then helped Mercedes out behind him once she slipped her shoes back on. Carson came around to handle the door, handing him a small bag as he did.
“Thank you,” he told the man. “I’ll text you when we’re ready.”
“Yes, sir. I’ll be waiting.”
Taking Mercedes’s hand, he led her to the main doors of Devotion and then held one open for her.
With a quick nod of his head, he greeted the woman who was manning the desk and the security guard who was standing off to the side. The woman didn’t have much work to do tonight because the club still hadn’t officially opened to new members and tonight’s festivities were by invitation only. And he could only hope security wasn’t necessary, but one could never be too careful.
With his fingers still linked with Mercedes’s, he made his way through the next set of double doors that led to the actual club.
At that point, Xander released her hand, and placed his at the small of her back, directing her toward the first bar. He noticed she was suspiciously eyeing the small bag that he was carrying, but he refused to share the details with her just yet.
Xander had a plan and every time he eyed the collar around her neck, he became more and more anxious to get the night started. Only he wasn’t looking to rush her and being that Mercedes was the one who was going to be in the uncomfortable spot tonight, he knew he needed to give her a little time to get acclimated to their surroundings. Figuring out of sight, out of mind was the best option, Xander stowed the bag underneath the first bar that they came to. He then grabbed the attention of the bartender and ordered them drinks.
While they waited, he took the opportunity to observe the goings-on of the club.
It was still fairly early, but the place was jumping, more people than he was expecting considering this was a test run of what they hoped would become a regular theme night.
Tonight’s theme… BDSM.
He was surprised to see that the attendees had embraced the concept. At least they had if their state of dress was any indication. Last night’s attire had been formal, tonight was all about play. He noticed that, without explicit direction, some people came up with some rather interesting ideas.
Most of the early arrivals donned leather, some not so appealing, some rather intriguing, all having one thing in common: an apparent effort to reflect the glorified, often stereo-typed lifestyle many were just now exploring.
Overall, Xander liked the feel of the place. Everyone was into it, from novices to experts and varying degrees in between.
As was usual, the shutters over the windows were closed, the lights were dimmed which left the club backlit by the red lights that surrounded the bars. The music was loud, a sexy bass beat thumping through the cavernous space. There were lines of people around the bars, others sitting at the scattered tables, some on couches and even some against the wall.
Because of the theme, they’d added some scenery, which included a St. Andrew’s cross, a very interesting Sybian saddle machine that Trent Ramsey, the somewhat obnoxious actor turned club owner and one of Xander’s longtime acquaintances, had found necessary to include. Off to the far side, Xander noticed someone had brought out a swing as well.
Of course, those pieces of equipment were already reserved in advance for the night, as were the glass enclosed playrooms. Mistress Serena was in one, but only one of the other three was occupied at the moment.
Xander had originally intended to use one of them for tonight, but after careful consideration, he was leaning toward utilizing one of the more private areas. Then again, that all depended on the way Mercedes responded to him.
Tonight he intended to test her again.
He was the Dom, – her Dom – and she was his submissive, and he fully expected her full cooperation and attention throughout the night. If she could manage to rein in some of her defiance, he’d gracefully reward her by keeping her out of the public eye.
However, if she chose to defy him, which up to this point he wasn’t sure she would do, he would easily lay claim to one of the glass rooms as punishment. Because of the latter, he had first dibs on the third room just in case.
Either way, he fully intended to make tonight interesting.
After all, he didn’t have a minute to waste. Five days weren’t nearly enough time for all the things he had planned for her. But for now, he’d proceed with that timeframe in mind.
Retrieving the drinks that the bartender handed over, Xander turned to Mercedes, offering hers to her first.
“Thank you,” she said with a smile when he handed her a glass filled with a clear liquid.
“You’re welcome,” he replied, studying her as she sipped from the glass. Figuring it was as good a time as any to lay out the ground rules, Xander continued. “Tonight, I want you to refer to me as Master or Sir,” he told her boldly, wanting to set the boundaries immediately.
Up to this point, they’d merely been on a casual date, something Xander found himself hoping for more of in the near future. Well, the only difference might’ve been him placing the nipple clamps on her and collaring her in the limo.
“Can you do that?” he asked when she didn’t answer immediately, needing her verbal confirmation that she was on board.
“Yes, Sir,” she mumbled.
He noted the sarcasm in her tone. She was adept at the rules of this game, so he didn’t feel it necessary to call out her transgressions as they were made. If she wanted to play that way, he’d gladly dole out his punishment accordingly. On the other hand, she knew what would please him because she knew him so well, so she had the option of playing by the rules.
The choice was completely up to her.
“One drink limit tonight,” he informed her as he sipped his Glenlivet. That was a hard and fast rule that they were both used to. Anytime he planned for a scene, he knew that alcohol didn’t mix well. The safety of his sub was, above all else, his utmost priority.
And tonight, he fully intended to focus all of his attention on the beautiful pet he planned to stake his claim on in every way possible.
~~*~~*~~
Luke McCoy was doing his best to keep his eye on everything that was going on around him as he stood near the bar. It wasn’t that hard to do considering he knew he had a second set of eyes doing the same not far away. Cole was less than ten feet away talking to Sierra, but Luke knew he was well aware of everything that was going on.
As he waited for the bartender to hand over the three drinks he’d ordered, Luke scanned the room, noticing that Xander and Mercedes had just arrived. Good thing too since tonight had been his new business partner’s suggestion in the first place. If he were completely honest, the whole BDSM thing didn’t do much for him. Well, that wasn’t completely true. He did find it rather tempting to tie Cole or Sierra to the bed whenever the opportunity arose. But that didn’t mean he was into all the shit that was going on around him tonight.
In fact, he was tempted to rush Cole and Sierra out the door and haul them home as fast as possible. From there, he’d be more than happy to show them his version of BDSM, which would involve a pair of handcuffs, some scarves, and him being buried to the hilt in one or the other of them as soon as fucking possible.
“You all right?”
Luke glanced over to see Trent Ramsey standing next to him, giving him one of his infamous smirks.
“Never better. You?” he answered easily, turning his attention back to the groups congregating around the wide open space.
“Just fucking dandy,” Trent said with a grin. “Looks like those Walker boys are gonna have to work extra hard to compete with this place, don’t you think?”
Luke fought the urge to roll his eyes. “Last I checked, it wasn’t a competition.” Then again, he’d been telling Trent that for months. The guy didn’t get it. He was hell-bent on ensuring that Devotion was above and beyond anything the Walkers could come up with. Had Luke not been a silent partner in the up and coming resort that the Walker brothers were building, he might’ve cared more than he did.
“Try telling them that,” Trent said, nodding his head toward the far side of the room.
Luke followed his gaze and noticed Travis Walker had made an appearance. Son of a bitch. Wasn’t that interesting? He was going to have to head over and talk to him. At least that would give him an excuse if he found he needed one.
“Has Xander been introduced to Travis?” Trent asked when Luke didn’t say anything more.
“Yeah,” Luke answered. He wasn’t going to let Trent know that Xander’s name had also been added to the long list of financial backers for the Alluring Indulgence Resort. It would likely make his head explode and for the time being, Luke was content with not having to deal with Trent being in a panic. At least tonight he seemed to be in a good mood.
Then again, with plenty of half-naked women sending looks his way, the man really shouldn’t have a care in the world.
“Everything ok over here?”
Saved by a beautiful woman.
Luke smiled down at his wife, putting his arm around her and pulling her closer to him while he glanced over to see where Cole was. His husband moved up against his other side and immediately picked up the conversation with Trent. God, he loved that man. Cole always knew when Luke needed rescuing, and he would always need to be saved from Trent. The man had the ability to drive him absolutely fucking crazy. But thanks to Cole, it looked like he’d be able to hang on to his sanity for a little while longer.
“Couldn’t be better,” he told Sierra, turning his full attention to her. “I thought you’d be talking to Sam.”
“I was. For a couple of minutes. I plan to meet up with her again once they get settled.”
“Problems?” Luke asked, glancing around to see if he could locate his twin. He hadn’t had a chance to talk to him.
“Not that I know of,” she said, pulling his attention back down to her. “So, what’s on the agenda tonight?”
Luke retrieved a drink from the bartender and handed it over to her before pulling her close once more. “That’s completely up to you,” he told her as he smiled.
“Really? I get to choose?” she asked sweetly.
Oh, hell. The woman had that devious grin that had the hair on the back of his neck rising. In a good way. “Did you have something in mind?”
“I’ve always got something in mind,” she assured him.
After last night, and the impromptu ceremony that Sierra had sprung on him and Cole, Luke wasn’t sure he’d be able to keep his hands off of her even if she’d asked. By the expression on her pretty face, she definitely wasn’t thinking about retreating to a quiet room all by her lonesome.
And for that, he loved her all the more.
“Baby, just say the word,” Luke told her.
Looking around the room once more, Luke found himself smiling. It wasn’t just the club, or the success of the previous night, or even tonight. It was all of it combined. His wife, his husband, and their daughter. Life was looking up for them, he knew that much.
And if anyone who knew him from before were to see him now, they’d probably wonder just what had happened to him. That was easy. Love. That’s what had happened to him.
And now it was time to celebrate.