Page 23 of Rebellion

“You can get to your rooms from that staircase there or the grand staircase in the foyer. I keep it roped off and staffed when the club is open, but we don’t really have problems with members trying to be where there’s no action.”

This was a lot of house. Even bigger than my estate and that was saying something. “Where’s the action?”

“You’ll see.”

He pulled open the door from the kitchen into the main part of the house, and yep, there was action all right. A party was in full swing and at the center was Lilly, standing on a platform, bare-assed getting spanked, paddled, and more by anyone and everyone.

I couldn’t tell if she enjoyed it or was pissed. Maybe both.

I elbowed Tate in the ribs. “A little warning would have been nice.”

“Well, you did take two hours to get off the plane. The party only started about a half an hour ago. So, uh, surprise?”

I sure would have liked to change into something more appropriate than the jeans and halter top I’d worn to travel in. It was my own fault. At least I had on cute shoes.

“I arranged this little meet and greet with some of our regular members for you.” Tate waved at a couple waiting for their turn at the paddle. “Lilly was a last-minute addition to the entertainment. Would you like to take your turn at her? She’s more than earned a good punishment from you.”

Yikes. While Lilly had been rude to me, there was no damn way I was ever going to give a spanking to her. The thought of it made my skin crawl.

I supposed if I was going to be a Domme, I’d have to learn to cater to the clientele, and if they liked some masochism in their lives, I’d deal with that. Later. I certainly didn’t want to look like a cabrón on my first day and in front of all these people. They were members and I knew better than most what high-priced membership got one. Giant eyeroll to myself for getting into these situations.

How was I going to get out of this one? Think fast.

“No. Let her wonder when my punishment is coming, that in itself will be torture.” I’d seen someone say that in a movie once. If I was going to do this, I needed to draw upon any and all resources.

“You have a devious mind, and that is damn sexy, woman. Let me introduce you around.” Tate took my hand and led me to a circle of people in varying arrays of undress. I prepared my nice-to-meet-you smile and followed his lead.

This was no average greet and meet, no shaking hands. That was far too vanilla for The Ranch crowd. One guy actually supplicated himself on the floor at my feet. I didn’t quite know what to do with that, so I patted him on the head like one might a good puppy.

No way I’d remember all the names or faces, but I liked the variety of people who made up the core of loyal members. Tate had fostered an environment that supported all shapes and sizes, bonus points for him that I wasn’t the only curvy woman in the room. So different than The Asylum. BDSM had a dark and secretiveness to it there, something to hide from the outside world. The faces of the members of The Ranch I’d met were open and held no judgement.

I’d have to both ask Tate how he developed and maintained this atmosphere and study it closely. When I finally opened my own club, this welcome feeling had to be part of the business plan.

God, I liked the sound of that. My own club. It was still a shiny new idea and I had no idea if I could actually pull it off, but the next few weeks would help me figure it out.

I tipped one foot to the side trying to stretch my ankles and relieve some of soreness. Travel and this insta-party were not the way to warm the cockles of a girl’s feet.

“You’re not wearing out on me, are you? The night has only begun. I haven’t even shown you the playrooms in the basement yet.” He pressed a champagne glass bubbling with sparkling water, raspberries and mint leaves into my hand.

“Thanks. If I don’t get off my feet soon, I won’t be any fun for the rest of the night.”

“I can fix that. Sit down.” He signaled to one of the male servers who brought over a tufted leather ottoman.

I sat and sighed. “Ah, that’s the ticket. Some Dominatrix I am, can’t even stand in heels for a few hours.”

“A Domme shouldn’t have to stand without her own needs being met too.” He waggled his eyebrows and knelt in front of me.

“The training begins.” There was no way I was ready to do anything remotely naughty, but I was fully ready to take advantage of my vague position of power. I kicked off my heels and placed one on Tate’s thigh. “You don’t happen to be into foot worship, are you?”

He laughed. “I can be into almost anything if given a chance to wrap my head around it.”

He began massaging my foot and I moaned long and low, rested my arms on the back of the ottoman and threw my head back.

“That is why I like to sub. Seeing how my service and actions can pleasure a woman gets me hard and hornier than a bull in springtime.”

“Mistress, may I be of help?” Dominic popped into my field of vision from behind and threaded his hands into my hair massaging my scalp.

“Oh God, yeah. This is almost better than sex.” I closed my eyes and let myself relax for the first time all day. The quiet hum of the room moved in waves where conversations ebbed and flowed. The heat of so many bodies, working to make each other hotter washed over me like a dry sauna, not too hot, but enough to allow my muscles to let go of some tension.

The clean scent of Dominic’s skin mixed with the musky scent of Ilario’s cologne. I recognized the feel of Ilario’s fingers playing their way down my cleavage.

After the day of traveling and this surprise party, I fully planned to have him in my bed tonight.

I sucked in a long bracing breath through my nose, planning on slowly blowing it and more stress of the day out my mouth like I’d been taught in more than one therapist’s office.

With the inhale I caught a scent far removed from this club, my life. Woodsy, clean, oh so incredibly alpha male. My chest burned holding the air in my lungs, my heart beat faster and faster, waiting for me to continue living.

Gray.

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