Leather & Lace: Trident Security Book 1 (6 page)

She was disappointed it was the middle of the afternoon and the club was empty except for her and Master Mitch. She would love to take in the sights and sounds of the club when it was in full swing. It would have be a tremendous help with the descriptions she wrote of her fictional club "Leathers," but it hadn't been an option offered to her.

Several minutes later, Mitch hung up the phone and gestured for her to join him at the top of the grand staircase. She listened as he began to explain the different areas and pieces of equipment as he led her down the stairs to the 'pit'.

"The pit?" she had asked with curiosity.

He laughed and shook his head. "Yeah, in the beginning we called this the dungeon, a little cliché but it's basically what it is. Somewhere along the line the observers upstairs began calling it the pit and it sort of stuck."

"I like it...it fits," she told him as they ended up near the center of the huge 'pit'. "It makes me think of the coliseum in Rome."

"Hmmm, maybe we should schedule some gladiator games. The subs would love it."

Kristen chuckled, as she made a quick note on her pad. "I might steal that idea and put it in my book."

"Only if you give me partial creative credit," he teased.

Kristen laughed harder. "It's a deal."

When they reached the first floor, she took a few more steps then rotated in a three hundred and sixty degree turn, taking in as much as she could. The red and grey color combination continued throughout this part of the club and was the perfect complement to the different pieces of equipment located in individual areas. Each was sectioned off by red velvet ropes hanging from brass hooks, while the wrought iron sconces and chandeliers completed the look.

"So, is it what you imagined it would be?"

Kristen turned back toward Master Mitch. "It's better than I ever imagined," she told him honestly. "I didn't think I would say this, but it's beautiful."

"Expected something more along the lines of a damp dark dungeon in some castle somewhere?" He laughed. People new to his lifestyle always seem amazed how...elegant, he guessed the word was...his club was.

"Sort of, I guess, I'm not sure what I expected but I know it wasn't this."

He began to show her the different sections and stopped in the center of the huge oval room, next to a two-foot high stage. On it sat a seven-foot tall, wooden St. Andrew’s Cross, with black leather padding covering part of its surface and it could be seen from every angle of the room. At the top and bottom ends of the cross were leather wrist and ankle restraints. Although it brought to mind medieval torture, Kristen knew it was common apparatus used in the lifestyle she was researching. An erotic shiver went through her as she imagined herself, naked and restrained to it, for everyone to see.

Shaking off the thought, she began to go through a list of questions she had written down before she came. She found his answers were valuable to her research as she took several more pages of notes. "How many members do you have?"

"Over three hundred and fifty but some of them live in the area part time so they only come a few times a year. The waiting list is over two hundred people and that's only for this club. There are four other clubs in the Tampa area but only two of those are private. The others are open to the public which isn't safe in my opinion. They don't keep track of their members and anyone could walk in off the street and start to play. Anyway, The Covenant has an elite clientele and the reputation of being
the
club to belong to. And it's not my ego talking. We've worked hard to become the best."

"Holy cow!" Over three hundred and fifty members, with more than half of that trying to get in? She had expected him to say less than a hundred members.

"Didn't think so many people were into kink, did you?"

Kristen shook her head in amazement as he continued. "We have a capacity for five hundred people in here as approved by the fire inspector, but I doubt we'll ever let the numbers get that high."

"Hey, Mitch, did you talk to Ian yet?" A male voice boomed and echoed in the empty club. As they both turned toward the grand staircase where someone was descending, Kristen heard, "What the hell are you doing here?!"

She froze and searched her mind for an answer as a very sexy and very pissed off Devon strode up to her and stopped inches from her face. Uh-oh, this wasn't good. Wait a minute...
what the hell are you doing here
? What the hell was
he
doing here?

Mitch glanced from Ms. Kristen Anders to his cousin wondering what was going on. It was obvious Devon knew who she was but she had no clue Devon was associated with The Covenant. "Um, last time I checked Dev, I run the place. That's what the hell I'm doing here."

Devon growled, never taking his eyes off the pretty young thing who all of a sudden looked like she wished she was anywhere else but here. "Shove it, Mitch. I asked you a question, Kristen. Don't make me ask you again."

Kristen may be a submissive, Mitch had recognized it right away, but his cousin had just pushed one of the woman's buttons a little too hard. Her back straightened as she stood up to the big, bad Dom staring down at her.

"It's not any business of yours, but Master Mitch was nice enough to give me a tour of his club for some research I'm doing for my book."

Her remark may have answered his immediate question but raised several more for him. "Research? In case you hadn't noticed, this is a BDSM sex club, Kristen."

"Of course I noticed, and it's obvious that little fact didn't get past you, now did it? Now please leave and let me finish my tour."

Mitch's laughter was cut off by Devon's lethal glare and he took a step back. He wasn't stupid enough to poke the lion anymore, but he'd be damned if he was going to miss this show.

"What were you thinking, Mitch? A tour? What are we, fucking Disney World?"

"I had Marco do a background check on her. Brody was busy. After I confirmed she wrote fiction and wasn't some reporter trying to check the place out, I figured it was fine. She has no cameras or recorders."

That was why he hadn't known about her background check. Marco had done the research and the name hadn't been familiar to him. Brody, who usually did the checks, would have recognized it right away and mentioned it to him. "How the hell did you find out about the club in the first place?" He was back to questioning her again.

She raised her chin in defiance. There was no way she would let this man intimidate her no matter how much she was attracted to him–and damn it, was it getting hot in here? "One of my Beta-readers is a member and she contacted Master Mitch for me."

Devon's eyes flicked toward his cousin with an unspoken question.

"Shelby."

Kristen huffed. She'd answered his questions but now she was becoming infuriated with him sticking his nose where it didn't belong. "This is really none of your business, Devon."

Devon stared back at her and growled, "None of my business? See, that's where you're wrong, Pet, this is my business. I own this club."

Her mouth dropped open as she looked back and forth between the two men. "Y-you own the club? I thought Master Mitch owned it."

"He's my cousin. We're co-owners, along with my brother. So, allow me to re-introduce myself to you, Pet. I'm Master Devon."

Kristen's mouth went dry. Shit! There was no way this could be happening. Of all the things which could go wrong today, she hadn't expected this. He was a Dom? She knew she was in so much trouble but didn't know why or what to say, so she just stared at him, her chin almost hitting the floor.

"What kind of research are you doing? Your books are pretty vanilla when it comes to sex, so why the hell do you need to research a BDSM club?" He realized his mistake as soon as the words were out of his mouth but there was no way to take them back.

"You read my books?"

She sounded as shocked as Mitch looked. Great, just great. It would be a long time before his cousin forgot this conversation.

He crossed his arms, forcing her to back up a step. "I didn't read any of them. Jenn left one of the books you gave her on the bar. I was curious about you and flipped through it. Now stop dancing around my questions."

Mitch cleared his throat. "I have a question. How do you two know each other?"

Refusing to give his cousin any ammunition for future jokes, Devon rolled his eyes. "Shut it, Mitch."

But to his dismay, Kristen spoke at the same time. "We have a date tonight."

Mitch's eyes widened because he couldn't have heard her right. Devil Dog? On a date? Like a date-date? Damn, the end of the world must be near. With flair for the dramatic, he stuck his finger in his ear to clear any blockage. "I'm not sure I heard you right, can you repeat that? It sounded like you said you two had a date."

Before she could answer him, Devon growled–which he did a lot in her presence. "Mitch, if you know what's good for you, you'll go upstairs and do some inventory or something. I'll finish taking Ms. Anders on her...tour."

To Kristen's shock, Master Mitch sighed and headed toward the staircase. "Don't forget, she's not allowed to play."

"I know. I was there when we wrote the club rules."

Mitch didn't stop walking up the stairs but raised his voice so she could hear him. "Ms. Anders, don't worry. You're in good hands. Oh, don't forget, the club safe-word is 'red'. I'll be at the bar if you need to use it."

Her eyes widened. There was no way he was leaving her alone with Devon, was there? The man looked like he wanted to spank her ass for the next three days straight and, good Lord, why did the thought make her wet?

Devon took a step toward her. Kristen's response was instantaneous and she took two steps back, looking for a way to get around him. He arched his brow and took another step. She tried not to react again but before she knew it, he had backed her up to the wall and stopped right in front of her, blocking her escape. Without saying a word, he reached out and took her pad and papers, tossing them on a small table behind him before doing the same with her pen and purse.

He then took hold of her wrists and brought her arms above her head. There were only a few inches between their bodies and she could feel the heat of his. She wished he would take a half a step toward her and then she would know what it felt like to be in contact with his hard chest, sculpted abs and trim hips. Oh and don't forget the massive erection he was sporting.

"Eyes up, Pet."

Heaven help her. She lifted her chin to find a perceptive grin on his face and she turned red, knowing she'd been caught staring at his crotch. He leaned forward, his mouth almost touching her ear and whispered, "You still haven't answered my question."

The words may have been simple, something you could hear in an everyday conversation but somehow he made them sound erotic and the heated feel of his breath on her ear didn't help. She swallowed hard, her legs trembling. Not in fear–he wouldn't physically hurt her. She didn't know how she knew it, but she did. But no, it was the sexual electricity between them which had her unable to control her quivering muscles. "What...what was the question again?"

"Why are you researching BDSM when you write vanilla sex?"

Couldn't he back up a little? "Um...well, my first nine books are...are vanilla, but my last book was based on a BDSM club and...and now I'm writing the second one in a series."

"You gave my niece a kinky romance to read." He didn't sound happy about it at all.

"Act...actually, I didn't give that one to her, only the others. It felt a little weird giving a nineteen year old a BDSM book."

She drew in a deep breath, relieved when he took a step backwards. But her feeling of relief didn't last long when she realized her arms were stuck. Tilting her head up, she tugged on her arms to find he'd shackled her wrists with Velcro restraints dangling from the balcony overhang. How did she not know he was doing that? Oh God, she was trapped.

She gaped at him and was annoyed to see he was laughing at her with a sinister smirk, his arms crossed over his muscular chest again. Damn the man was gorgeous...and dangerous. Not in a bad way, but also not in a good one. And here she was with no way to escape. She wouldn't panic. Master Mitch was right upstairs. She was safe, wasn't she? "Let me go." She hoped the demand would sound confident, but instead, it sounded breathy.

He shook his head. "Not until your tour is complete."

Damn, how had she not noticed how arrogant the man was? "I didn't know class participation was part of the tour."

Devon let out a full-blown laugh. "Oh, how I love bratty submissives. They give me plenty of reasons to spank their asses beet red. And I'll tell you, at the moment, my hand is itching to get at your sweet ass."

"I'm not a submissive."

The look he gave her said he didn't believe her for a second before he turned around and took three steps to the table where he'd put her things. Turning a wooden chair around, he straddled it and sat down facing her. Without saying a word he picked up her pad and the papers Mitch had given her and began to look through them.

"Hey, that's my stuff. I didn't give you permission to look through my notes."