Page 19 of Pray for the Damned

I take the piece of paper from him, and my chest tightens. Three shifts. That’s more than I could have hoped for when the week is already half over, and then four shifts for next week. If the tips are anything like last night, I could cut down my hours at the diner. Hell, I could quit the diner.

“This is great. Thank you so much.” I don’t miss the way my voice wavers, but Wyatt doesn’t seem to notice, or at least he doesn’t comment.

“Now, the other thing is that with your employment also comes membership to the club. I have Hannah, one of our regulars that sometimes helps out with registration and tours here tonight, if you’d be interested in getting that all started. She can go over the paperwork, and we’ve already done yourbackground check for your employment, so once you’ve filled in the surveys, she can take you straight out onto the floor.”

The mention of the background check makes my stomach drop, just the way it always does. When I ran, I had no idea how I was going to survive with my real name, but then one day a new set of documents arrived with a new last name. It’s been seven years since that happened, and yet every time someone runs my name, I worry they’ll realize that there are a lot of years missing.

“Oh, I…” I start. Do I really want to have a membership? Is that something I’m even interested in? But then dark eyes fill my mind, and any argument I was going to make slips away. It’s a pipe dream thinking Emmett would ever be interested in me. He’s gorgeous and a man of God, and the things I’ve done over the years to survive will surely not endear me to him.

“It’s one of the perks, so you may as well do all the paperwork now just in case you choose to use it in the future.” Wyatt stands and rummages through a filing cabinet behind the desk, pulling out a booklet that seems entirely too large for something he described as a survey. He hands it over to me, and I take it. “We keep your preferences on file, and if they ever change, we can update them for you. This helps us and our floor walkers know your limits and know if someone ever crosses them,” he explains, and my cheeks heat. “Get started on that, and I’ll go grab Hannah. It’s great to have you on the team, Waverly.”

He gives me a quick smile as he leaves the room, and I lean back in my seat, my shoulders sagging as I stare down at the booklet in my hands. There are pages and pages of questions, but just the first one makes my blush deepen.

Do you identify as a:

Dominant

Submissive

Switch

Unsure

Oh sweet Jesus.

My eyes move down to the next question.

Have you ever been a member at another adult club?

Well at least I can answer that without much thought.

I go through a few more easy questions before the door swings open, and a beautiful woman with sparkling green eyes saunters into the room. Her long auburn hair is pulled up into a perfect ponytail, and the dress she’s wearing accentuates every single curve she has. The short satin dress clings to her body, with her breasts pushed up, it’s hard not to stare at her. She’s fucking stunning.

“Hi! I’m Hannah! It’s so nice to meet you!” Her smile is contagious as she drops into the seat beside me, and I can’t help but return it.

“I’m Waverly.”

“Oh, I know! I saw you last night at the bar while I was on the bench.”

“The bench?” I ask cautiously.

“The spanking bench,” she explains. “Have you got to that question yet? Do you know if you like a little pain on the side of your pleasure?”

Heat returns to my cheeks, and her smile widens. “I’m not sure,” I tell her honestly.

“Oh, you’re going to have so much fun finding out! I’m jealous, honestly. I miss when I was still finding what I liked and didn’t like.”

“You do?” I ask incredulously. “I’m finding this whole thing a little…” I trail off.

“Daunting? Terrifying? Batshit crazy?”

I nod, a smile tipping up my lips.

“It’s normal to feel that way. I’ve shown people around this place that have experience in these settings, and they still looked like they were going to hurl, they were so nervous.” She reaches out and hesitates, waiting to see if I’ll stop her, before she drops her hand to my knee and squeezes. “But I’ll tell you what I told them: this place is amazing. Wyatt and Elias have created a club that’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen before, where their members and staff are respected and safe. I’m not going to lie to you and say no one shitty ever makes it through those doors, but it’s rare as hell, especially because you need a reference to even get to this stage.”

I nod and look down at the booklet in my hands. “I’ve never really had the chance to explore what I like,” I tell her honestly. “The men I’ve been with before were only there for themselves.”

“Assholes.” She bristles and takes the booklet from me, flipping through the pages until she finds what she’s looking for. “There are some people that enjoy that kind of thing, but I think it’s safe to say you’re not one of them?” She raises an eyebrow at me, and I shake my head. She quickly marks off something in the booklet before moving back to the front page. “Okay, let’s get this done so we can go walk the floor. It’s a quiet night, but there’s still plenty happening out there, and you might get a better sense of what you want to try.”

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