The Red Door (The Door Series Book 1) (4 page)

“Thank you, Holly. That means a lot to me.”

“Just because I think you should go doesn’t mean it will be for you. That is why you need to go. I can see in you the same wonder and resolve I had at a younger age. Adam and the club gave me something I didn’t know was missing.”

“How about you and Holly talk about the basics, and I’ll take Miss Mason to run off some ice cream energy before her nap? How about it, Mason? Do you want to go play on your swing set?”

“Yay!” Mason ran toward the kitchen, and I heard a door slam and watched Adam follow.

“I can look around and see how much she’s loved. Listening to the way she speaks and how you are with her proves that you are wonderful parents. Thank you so much for letting me have a part in her life. I need it more than you will ever know.”

“You’re welcome, but you know you are not only part of her family and life, but ours too. And besides, if you are anything like you used to be, you would’ve never let us by without having you in our life.”

“I don’t know if I’m that girl anymore,” I whispered honestly to her.

“Right. Well, I say you are, but I think she is a little scared and is hiding behind this new persona. Let’s talk about the club because I think that will either bring out the old you or bring out an even stronger newer you.” She smiled huge and launched into a deeper longer version of the highlights I received from Becca. I felt things stir while listening to her talk. I felt desire for the first time in years. I have never had sex. I never had it in high school and didn’t have any kind of social interaction in college. Now, I wanted it, wanted more. I also felt some fear. I didn’t know if I was afraid of what actually happened at the club, the thought of finally having sex, or if it was all the time I wasted thinking about a place I might end up hating. Holly took me into her office and pulled up several pictures explaining in detail everything I would see and a lot of what I would feel. I was nervous on the inside and wondered if it showed, but as she continued her explanation, her calm level voice led me to believe I kept it buried.

I spent the entire day and stayed for dinner. We ate outside on the patio and the rest of the day was spent playing with Mason and talking to both Adam and Holly.

Watching them interact with each other, I could see their love in everything they did. She didn’t bow down to him, and he didn’t demand things from her. When I mentioned this, I was told that behavior belonged in a Master/slave relationship. They didn’t have that type and what they did do was limited only to the bedroom or the club.

I hugged Holly and Mason bye and went to leave. I stopped at the door and looked back at Adam. “I want what Holly has. I want what my mom had. I want to be loved and cherished and needed. I want to find the man who makes me want to give everything over to him in the bedroom, a man who can take me to a place where I can find the freedom to just feel.”

Adam looked at me hard. I watched as the hard muscle in his jaw started to tick as he was struggling with his thoughts. Then, he came to a decision and nodded his head. “You don’t need to belong to the club to have that type of relationship. You don’t even need to be in a BDSM relationship to have that, but I can see from your face that the stubborn girl we know and love has made an appearance. I will talk with the owner and have the paperwork readied. In the meantime you need to get a complete physical. The club will need paperwork saying you are clean. It is standard procedure for a club like this and has to be done every four months. Also, this is a good club, but back when your parents were involved, it was not as…” Adam looked off for a second. “Not as crowded. The members were more exclusive. Your parents were a big part of that, limiting the number of people who were allowed memberships. We are trying to return things back to more of the way it was, and the last few months we have narrowed it down even more. Not only limiting who gets a membership, but who comes through as a guest. We have not been granting a lot of membership renewals. I can’t guarantee an entry, but like I said, I will talk with the other Masters.”

Now, ten years after I had first heard about The Red Door, I was finally going to go in. I sat in my car looking over at the red door feeling that this moment was predestined someway, somehow. It was eight p.m. Friday night. The club didn’t open its doors until nine. Adam told me to come early to see the layout and get comfortable before being thrust into the thick of things. I stepped out and looked down at my black dress and four inch heels hoping they were good. I had curled my hair and pulled back part of it with some pins. I knocked on the door knowing they knew I was here. I had to give my name at the gate and could see a camera from where I was standing. It was almost reassuring that they recorded that I was going in the club. After Becca’s assessment and Holly’s detailed description, I almost wondered if I would look different when I came out. I decided I wouldn’t—at least, not tonight. Both Adam and the owner were going to accompany me until I knew what I wanted. Adam didn’t tell me anything else, and he handled the paperwork to get me into the club. I never spoke with anyone besides him, but I trusted him enough to know he would make sure I proceeded slowly.

When the door opened, it revealed a gorgeous man with dark brown hair pulled back in a ponytail and brown eyes. Standing at least six inches above my five-foot-ten high-heeled status with solid muscles, I quit breathing. He was wearing black slacks hung low on the hips, and a solid black t-shirt that had to be painted on because it was so tight. I could feel my body heating up at the sight. Of course, my next thought was,
“I wonder if all of him is this big?”
Then, I caught myself staring and jerked my head up as I caught his lips twitch.

“This way, Miss Hammond.” Oh purrrrr. The way he said my name and the sensation it caused, I didn’t wonder if I would make it out the door different. Hell, I was beginning to wonder if I would even make it in the door without being different. I was ready to lie down and do whatever this fine specimen asked of me.

“Miss Hammond?” Oh, yes, that was me. Sex-starved twenty-one-year-old virgin walking into a BDSM club looking for freedom with panties wet enough to wring out… wasn’t that a lovely thought.

“Coming, Mr.… What is your name, Sir?” He looked back from leading me across the entryway to an office. He smiled down those six inches, and it was a lethal smile.

“Not yet, Miss Hammond, but you will be. Oh, you can keep calling me Sir.”

“Oh, damn.” I gulped. His smile became bigger before he turned to walk around the desk.

The office was large with black furniture and grey walls. The light fixture that hung from the ceiling had a rustic circle with lights that looked like fat candles. There were matching sconces on the wall by the pictures. There were only two pictures in the office; one hung over the fireplace and one behind the desk. With the dark décor, the touch of bright colors in the black and white pictures drew your eye to them. The one above the fireplace had a woman in front of a fire, actually this exact fireplace with the same stone work and large wooden mantle. Her head was on the floor and stomach resting on top of her bent knees. She was turned sideways, making the picture a silhouette. It was sensual looking at her bowed naked back. Her small breasts hung down to the floor, her nipples touching it. What caught my eye was the mirror above the fireplace. I could see a man’s face. The only color in the picture was the fire behind the woman and reflected in the man’s eyes. It highlighted his features just enough to make them out. His eyes were pointed down toward the woman and the look on his face was one that scared me and made me hot at the same time. But it was the other picture that drew me in. While the one above the fire was intriguing, it left me feeling confused. The other picture made me feel more. Want? Need? I walked over to this photo without realizing it. It was of a young woman in her early twenties, spread opened and tied down onto a bed with purple fur lined handcuffs attaching her to the headboard and a purple scarf tied around her eyes. Even with that being the only color, what I saw and felt was the desire you could clearly see she was feeling. Her nipples were taut and pointed toward the ceiling, while one knee was bent, and the other leg was hanging off the bed. I remembered looking at the magazines Mark would bring over, and none of them ever captured desire like this one did. I wondered what it would feel like to be brought to that point. To have that much freedom and trust in someone, I would allow them to tie me down and do with me what they wished.

“It’s a great photo of her.” I turned to see that it was not only Sir and me in the room but also Adam. I looked back to the picture and only then recognized who I was looking at.

“It’s Holly. I didn’t even realize…”

“Saw something you like? Something you want? Maybe even something you need?” Ahh. There was that caramel voice again. Since I had made my way over to the picture I was now right beside him. Oh, well in for a foot.

“Yes, Sir. When I look at that picture, I see freedom and trust.”

“Interesting, Miss Hammond. You see a woman tied down, and you see freedom. You know what that tells me?”

“No, Sir.”

“It tells me you’re in the right place, Miss Hammond and,” he glanced up at Adam, “in the right hands.”

“Aurora, this is Mitch. He’s the owner and has offered his assistance for when I cannot be around. His dad, Robert Reed, was the owner of the club and was good friends with your father.”

The door opened again, and I felt my whole body go from relaxed and composed to tight and nervous as Alex strolled in and shut the door. The glance I had of him leaving the club a week ago didn’t do him justice. His hair that was once long was now short. His face had aged well, and the few lines he had around his mouth and his green eyes made me think he smiled often even if he had a frown on his face now. He seemed bigger than I remembered, too. He had a couple of day’s growth of a beard, and his ears were pierced. He was a bad boy down to the bone and completely covered in black jeans, thermal, and motorcycle boots. I noticed all of this and somehow managed to look toward Adam without appearing affected, even though I was pretty sure my shirt was moving along with my thumping heart. I didn’t know if I could do this with Alex.

“Aurora, do you remember my brother, Alex? I asked him to show you around. The club is not bad, but it is bigger than it seems. I am already escorting Holly, and Mitch could be called away at any time. I would rather you have someone who would stay with you all night. You’ll still have Mitch and me watching out for you. Is that okay with you?” Was that okay with me? No. I mean I wanted to jump Alex, but I also had a feeling being around him would make me say or do something stupid. I looked back over at Alex. I watched as he blatantly checked me out. I could see him noting certain areas on my body. When he finally met my eyes, he gave me a half-smile.

“Hello, Angel. Not so little anymore, are you?” Shit. With that I decided I didn’t care if I said something stupid. This was Alex, and I wasn’t about to miss a chance with him.

Coming in as a sub with three men offering to show me around and asking me if it was okay was not what I was expecting. I longed for that freedom in the picture. I liked calling Mitch “Sir,” and I liked handing over the reins and not knowing what I was going to experience. Part of the excitement was the unknown. I needed that excitement in my life now more than ever. I needed to focus on the excitement and not any lingering fear I had. I didn’t want to come back to only find I was the same girl as before. Holly was right. I wanted a newer, better me. I glanced one last time to the picture then to each of the men.

“What do I call each of you? Your names?”

“This is Sir Adam and Sir Alex. You’ll add Ma’am or Sir in front of any name of men or women you meet unless we direct you otherwise. You’ll have to have permission to speak with them, and they’ll need it to speak with you. This permission will come from your Dom or Master. In your case, it’ll come from one of us. New subs are vulnerable in the club; that’s why they are escorted in the beginning. Once you are more experienced and become a member, you can come in alone. As for me, you already know what to call me at all times, no matter what you’re doing or who you’re with. Do you understand me?”

“Yes, Sir.”

He smirked. “No, my dear Aurora, I don’t think you do, but you will.” He looked me up and down and then smiled full on. “Oh, yes, you will.”

I heard Alex chuckle and glanced over to see him smirking, and Adam looking a little shocked. Was Mitch saying he wanted me? A man like him probably had a horde of women who did his bidding. “Do you have any more questions, Miss Aurora?”

I thought about it. I was about to walk through to the unknown, completely. I had not moved past second base in high school. I mean, come on, why go further with a guy when he played with my nipples like they were one of those spinning tops I played with when I was five?

This was my last chance for reassurance.

“Tonight is just a walk through, right? To see what is going on and what I might like. To meet some other people and get some information.”