Page 43 of Beneath the Blindfold

I shuffled forward a few feet and glanced into the room to my left. It looked like the living area of an elegant hotel suite. There was a big screen television mounted on the wall, a couch, and what seemed to be a wet bar area. That wasn’t what I expected at all. No bed?

“We got a few client rooms,” he said. “Overflow if we book two at the same time. We hold the guy here until his girl’s ready.”

Oh.A tingle crept along my skin as I glanced to my right. There was a brass number two on the door, and my gaze swept further inside. This room was lit by a glowing crystal chandelier, and the prisms cast subtle rainbows on the wall. It was the only color. Everything, including the table in the center of the space, was black except for the white wingback chair in a back corner.

He didn’t tell me it was okay to go inside the room, but I did it anyway. The table was like a large cabinet with a black leather cushion top.

“This is where it happens?” My voice was breathless.

“Yeah.”

I pictured getting on the table, and shuddered with unexpected pleasure at the mental image. “How does it work?”

Julius shuffled a few feet into the room. “The sales assistant helps the girl get blindfolded and strapped down, and waits for the client to come in.”

I paused. “Sales assistant?”

“Another girl. She’ll negotiate the price.”

I stared at the empty wingback chair. “Does she stay during?”

“Nah, she leaves when a deal’s done.”

“Is that . . . safe? Leaving the girl alone with the guy?”

Something flickered through his expression. Was he shy all of a sudden? “It’s safe. We got cameras and I’m watching in my office.”

I felt stupid for not thinking of that, but then my eyes widened. “Holy shit, Julius. Youwatch? What’s that like?” I couldn’t stop the surprised smile from rushing across my face. “Is it sexy?”

He shook his head. “It’s work.” He rubbed a hand on the back of his neck, showing off his hulking form. “And it’s probably gonna give me an ulcer. A lot of the guys, they’re nothing to worry about. All they want is to fuck a hot girl. But I always gotta watch for that one asshole who wants to push things. The motherfucker who goes too far.”

His uncharacteristically dark look made me think it had happened before.

My gaze went back to the table as I struggled to find a change in topic. He’d said the girl was tied down, but— “Where are the straps?”

“Top drawer.”

It felt like he was cool with me peeking. I grabbed the silver knob and slid the drawer open. Swaths of black ribbon were coiled neatly inside, and beside them, stacks of black blindfolds wrapped in clear plastic.

There were three other drawers beneath this one. It didn’t make a sound as I closed it, and neither did the next one I opened. My breath stalled in my lungs. The drawer was partitioned, and each section held a different item. Vibrators. Dildos. Plugs.

“That one’s for pleasure.” Julius’s deep voice broke the quiet in the room.

As I stared down at the toys, I could feel his gaze on me, and I grew hot. The air in the room thickened and became hard to breathe.

The next drawer down was also partitioned. Paddles. Riding crops. Nipple clamps. A looped item I suspected was a whip.

“That drawer’s for pain.”

There was something buried in his tone, and I knew him well enough to recognize it. He didn’t care for this drawer, which was interesting. I peered at it with fascination, but also trepidation. I’d been a vanilla girl most of my life, but had always been curious, and Tariq’s betrayal was a catalyst to broadening my sex life.

It shouldn’t have been surprising the ‘pain’ drawer made Julius uneasy. The guy was the sweetest thing ever. He looked intimidating, but he had a gentle heart. Yet, he ran a BDSM sex club. Wasn’t this drawer a huge part of that?

I closed it and opened the final drawer, moving slowly because my body was sluggish with lust. There were strap-on harnesses. A wand with feathers at the end, and other things I didn’t recognize.

“That drawer is for both.”

My tone was skeptical. “Feathers can cause pain?”

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