Hold Me Close (13 page)

Someone gentler.

After a last lingering stroke of her arm, Dex turned away and headed out the door.
 

Outside, he breathed deeply and let the warm ocean breeze tease over him. His thoughts returned to the moment he’d spied Bonnie outside his cottage window. The image of her nude form back dropped against the churning sea would forever remain seared into his memory. She had a bit of a hidden wild streak in her he’d love to see more of. Dex sighed. He couldn’t keep thinking about her like that. Time for a distraction, pronto.
 

Dex gritted his teeth and focused on the castle in front of him. From a distance it looked impressive, but close up it was even better. Someone had gone to great expense and effort to rebuild such a magnificent showpiece. Although he hated to think what the upkeep on a place like this would be. Besides the enormous main structure, his flight in had given him a bird’s eye view of the small island and he’d noticed several more outlying structures that resembled the ones he and Bonnie had been assigned to.
 

The normal fees for an island vacationer had to be exorbitant. Dex slipped inside the main building through a side door as instructed by the concierge and followed the directions he’d memorized yesterday afternoon. The exquisite stone finishes of the outside continued through the interior space and on down through the rock walled spiral staircase that led to the dungeon.
 

One minute he’d been walking through a tropical island garden and now he stepped into a totally different old world atmosphere. Not for the first time, he wondered what the connection was between this place and Gabe. From all the information he’d obtained from the concierge, Eden appeared to be about a lot more than BDSM. His original assumption that this was some sort of fantasy island for kinky people hadn’t panned out. So how Purgatory or Gabe were connected to the Master or Eden remained a mystery.

At the bottom of the stairs, the colors grew even richer, changing from grey stone to red walls and a hulking black heavy iron door. He really liked the literal interpretation of a dungeon up to this point. If this were his property, he’d design it the same way.

Dex pushed the door open and entered a small waiting room that had little more than a desk on one side of the door and two plush red velvet covered chairs on the other.
 

“Welcome to the Eden dungeon, Sir. May I direct you to your destination?” A petite blonde rose from behind the desk. The see-through slip of a dress she wore caught his eye as she moved. The sheer material was screen printed with an intricate design and then encrusted with pearls and crystals that kept her nipples obscured from his view. The off-white color of the sheer fabric matched her skin tone, causing the rest of the design to appear tattoo like. He’d never seen anything like it before and he couldn’t resist imagining what it would look like on Bonnie.
 

“I missed my appointment to tour the dungeon earlier, so I came in to take a look around on my own,” he said.

The woman lowered her gaze. “Of course, Sir. May I offer you a tour? I’d be happy to show you around.”

 
He took a closer survey of her curves and the shy expression on her face. Her body remained perfectly still under his perusal and he smiled. Well-trained. And exquisitely beautiful. “It would be my pleasure—” He didn’t know her name yet.

“Grace, Sir. My name is Grace.”

He reached forward and tipped her chin so their gazes met. It’s very nice to meet you, Grace. My name is Dex but I’d much rather hear Sir when you address me.” It was important to him to maintain protocol while inside a dungeon. It kept the roles clear and prevented any emotional misunderstandings during and after a play scene.

“Of course, Sir.” This time she crossed her legs and lowered a few inches before returning to an upright position. The gorgeous and poised Grace pivoted around and led him through another set of black metal doors and into the main area of the club. He scanned the room and absorbed the atmosphere. Lights were dim and presented in dark rust wall sconces that created endless pinpoints of light that bounced off the many mirrors in the space. Luxurious couches and settees had been set up for grouping areas, where dungeon participants could lounge before or after a scene. All of the equipment, and it was extensive, was made of chrome, which only enhanced the effects of bouncing light. Low music throbbed through him as he surveyed some of the public scenes already taking place.
 

“This is the main public room for those who prefer to scene in the open, but if you look past the equipment you will see various alcoves shrouded in heavy drapes through the dungeon. Those are the private themed rooms, meant to cater to any fantasy you can think of. “This one is the medieval-themed space.” She brushed the curtains aside and revealed a play area that looked like it was right out of medieval times. He especially appreciated the details to the walls, including chains and cuffs.
 

Grace continued the tour, showing him every play space that wasn’t marked as private. He’d been impressed with Purgatory from day one, but he had to admit the Eden dungeon blew away anything he’d seen before. The sheer size of play space was beyond his expectations for such a small island.

“Grace.” He interrupted her latest explanation on yet another theme. “Do you know the actual square footage of the facility?”

“I do. Since the dungeon runs underneath a good portion of the castle, we have more than twenty thousand square feet of space to work with. It’s big, but the Master went to a lot of trouble to ensure each area felt intimate.”

While she was talking, a young-dark haired submissive came up beside her and waited to speak. In a show of ultimate training, Grace deferred to him with barely more than a tilt of her head.
 

“Yes, see what she needs,” he said.

“Thank you, Sir.” She turned to the newcomer. “What do you need, Brandy?”

“Colleen and I have been waiting in the whip room for Master Drake but it’s been over an hour. Do you know if he is coming in tonight?”

Grace frowned, causing a cute little furrow to appear on her forehead. “He definitely should have been here by now. Did you make an appointment?”

The woman nodded. “Yes, we both did.”

“Oh dear.” Grace bit her lip, the worry evident in her eyes.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“I’m sorry, Sir. It appears I am going to have to cut your tour short so I can find out what happened to Master Drake. He had a full schedule of appointments today and should be here.”

“I can do it.” The words came out automatically. He paused to think about it and decided that a session in the Eden whip room sounded like exactly what he needed.

“I’m so sorry, Sir. But I—I’m not sure I can do that.”

Dex smiled and squeezed her shoulder in a reassuring gesture. “I completely understand. You don’t know anything about me other than I am a guest. But as I was sent here from Purgatory Club, I expected at some point I would be participating in a demonstration or two. It just so happens back home in my club, I manage the whips and floggers with ease.”
 

She still looked unsure.
 

“How about I escort Brandy here back to the whip room and get things set up while you contact your boss, Mr. Abrams. I’ll wait for a dungeon monitor to check in with me before I get started.”

This seemed to relieve her as her shoulders perked up and her eyes brightened. “You really want to do this?”
 

Dex opted to go easy on the nervous little sub and let her slip of protocol—questioning him—slide. “Yes, I would not have offered if I didn’t want to.”

Her face changed and Dex wanted to laugh at her look of horror when she realized what she’d done.
 

“Oh my God, Sir. I am so sorry.” She fell to her knees and averted her eyes. “I did not mean to question you inappropriately.”

“Grace.” He bent over and hauled her back to her feet. “Apology accepted and no harm done. Now go contact Mr. Abrams so we can take care of Brandy here and her sub friend.”

“Thank you, Sir. But I will still note my infraction in my log book and either my Master or one of the monitors will see to the appropriate punishment.”

Dex sighed. Despite his attempt to let it go, the poor girl felt obligated to make amends. “Do what you feel you have to, little one, but don’t do it on my account. Your apology is more than enough in my book.”

She lifted her gaze and met his. “You are a kind Dominant, Sir. Your submissive must worship you.”

Immediately his thoughts returned to Bonnie and how she’d looked lying in his bed. He hoped when she woke she followed his directions. “You are a good girl, Grace. Now run along and take care of my references so we can get this show on the road."
 

She scurried off and he turned his attention to the submissive still standing there. “Well, sub. It looks like you’re going to be stuck with me tonight. So why don’t you show me the way to the whip room and we’ll get started.” The girl opened her mouth as though she wanted to say something and then changed her mind, slamming it shut and spinning on her telescopic heels. She’d moved quickly, but not quick enough. He spied the fire in her eyes. Good. The feistier the better, as far as he was concerned.

They went through a maze of corridors before the tiny brunette walked through a door. Dex followed and gaped when he got a look at the ‘whip room.’ Holy shit. The ‘room,’ as they called it, could have fit the main play space of Purgatory inside it. At least twenty stations were set up with plenty of space between them to keep each area’s activities easily separated. Every station offered a wide array of implements from every kind of whip he’d ever tried and many more floggers than he was accustomed too. As far as he was concerned, he’d just walked into heaven.

“Brandy, what’s going on?” He didn’t turn to find the owner of the new voice. He’d let Brandy explain to her friend what had transpired and then they could decide on their own if they wanted to keep their appointment with him instead of Master Drake.

He focused on the first station that caught his eye. The black and red colors of the dungeon continued in here as did the dim lighting save for the well-placed spotlights that lit up the spaces for safety. Instead of the typical cross, this area had a medallion attached to the wall. With the four grids and many cross patterns fashioned from chrome, a submissive could be attached and played with in a variety of ways.
 

And like the medieval-themed room, there were thick iron chains and shackles attached to various points of the stone back wall. He was getting hard just thinking about all the ways he could play with this equipment. He was also making a mental checklist for what he wanted to build in his home playroom.

He turned to the subbies to call them over and found them both on their knees at the edge of his chosen play space.
 

“I take it you’ve decided to continue.”

Brandy and her equally gorgeous red-haired friend spoke in unison. “Yes, Sir. We are.”

Pretty and eager. This was going to be fun.

“What about limits and a safeword?” he asked.

“We play hard, Sir, but we’d prefer to avoid permanent marking.”

“And sex?”

“We’re fine with that too.”

Dex nodded, eager to get started. “Then strip.”

Chapter Eleven

Bonnie pushed open the heavy metal door she presumed led to the Eden dungeon and peeked inside. The waiting area was empty, so she entered the small reception area. It had been disconcerting to wake up and find Dex gone. And after doing the things he’d asked, she’d been unable to fall back asleep. The bed was cold without him, so she’d set out to find him and lure him back into her arms. If their time together was limited, she wanted to make the most of it.

Now she stood in a tiny room in little clothing with her insides trembling. When she’d first discovered all the luxurious lingerie in her mysterious suitcases, she’d had no intention of using it. But a trip to a dungeon required a little something extra. Especially if she wanted to knock Dex’s socks off. She hoped the short black slip halter dress that barely covered her nipples, and pretty much nothing else, would do the trick. To top it off, she’d added a garter and thigh high stockings with black bows at the top.
 

For once in her life, she’d cast aside her body conscious issues and strictly dressed to look her sexy best. Bonnie sucked in a deep breath. One last moment to fortify her courage before she entered the dungeon. Beyond the waiting room, the lighting dimmed and she had to take a moment for her eyes to adjust. Low music and murmured voices came from somewhere within the room. Bonnie headed in that direction.

She had no idea where to start her search, so when a lovely woman in a small gold dress approached her, Bonnie breathed a sigh of relief.
 

“Can I help you find something?”
 

“I’m looking for Dex Walsh. He’s a guest here.”

The woman smiled wide. “Yes, I’ve met Master Dex. Are you his submissive? He’s wonderful and we’re so lucky he came in tonight. He took over the whip room and he’s already made quite an impression.”

At a loss for words, Bonnie did her best to return her smile. She had no idea how to explain her relationship with Dex other than ‘it’s complicated.’