Page 83 of Stepping Up to the Plate

She gives me a nod and I make my way down the hall. Craig is an experienced Dom. I’m sure he has the situation in hand, but as I told Willa, it never hurts to take a peek. It's an exhibition area, they expect spectators.

When I come across the scene in question, I'm glad I decided to check. Not only does Craig have a sub suspended, he has her hands bound and a gag in her mouth as he delivers blows with a crop to her flesh.

In this state, I cannot conceive a scenario where she would be able to safe word. She needs at least one way to signal him. I know there are some subs who say they don’t need a safe word, but that is not a practice of Club Hedone. The ability for any party to end a scene at any time is a standard here.

It isn’t typical for a scene to be interrupted, but in this case, I would rather have a sexually frustrated member than a hurt one. Craig clocks me as I approach and frowns.

“Red!” I call out. We typically have monitors who walk the public areas that should have stopped this, but I don’t see one.

“What are you doing?” Craig asks, annoyed.

“Ending this scene. This arrangement breaks protocol. We can discuss it once we’ve checked on your sub.”

Thankfully, she is in a cocoon suspension and I am able to easily lower her onto her side. Why her hands are also bound, I have no idea. I pull the gag out first and search for injuries as I make quick work of the ropes.

“Color?” I question.

“Red,” she exhales. Her voice is husky as if she had been making noises for a while. The second her arms are free she wraps them around herself, visibly trembling.

“It’s okay. You’re okay,” I croon, trying to comfort her. What I want to do is rage at Craig for putting her in this position, but right now helping her is my priority. I scoop her up and turn to the soon-to-be banned Dom. “Send a monitor over here and wait for me in Cole’s office.”

“But I need to give Mandi aftercare,” he grouses.

Mandi tenses and shakes her head against me. She clearly doesn’t want him anywhere near her and I can’t blame her. “Don’t leave me,” she rasps.

“I’ve got this,” I bark at him. “Monitor. Office. Now.” I can’t even say complete sentences anymore with the amount of anger coursing through my body. Craig reluctantly shuffles away but not without a lot of muttering under his breath. I carry Mandi to the seating area we have in the exhibition hall for aftercare.

There are only two other groups in here tonight. By the stocks gather half a dozen men and women watching a Domme tease her sub. The only other people are a couple engaged in pet play being watched by a lone woman who peeks in our direction a few times.

Cheryl, one of the monitors, rushes over to me. “Craig said you needed me,” she states.

“Yes. Mandi needs a bottle of water, aloe, and a washcloth, ASAP. She came out of an unsafe suspension.”

“Do you need anything else?” I direct at Mandi.

“A robe, please.”

“And a robe,” I repeat to Cheryl. “Please bring those items to me and inform Cole I want to speak with him and Craig once Mandi is settled. I don’t know how long I will be. I expect an explanation on why there was no monitor in the area when I am done.”

“Yes, sir,” she answers sheepishly and leaves to complete my requests. I make several attempts to release Mandi, but it takes a while for her to stop clutching me and let Cheryl take over.

* * *

Four hours later, I finally leave the club. It took Mandi two hours to calm down and feel safe enough to change and head home. I asked Willa and the member relations team to follow up with her tomorrow to ensure she is still doing okay and not experiencing sub-drop.

Despite excuses and whining, Craig was relieved of House Dom duties and banned from the premises. Cole assured me he would contact other clubs nearby to give them a heads up about this incident. Any reputable club has a zero-tolerance policy for what went down and that combined with his haughty attitude will not make him any friends.

After sending Craig packing, we call Declan and catch him up on the situation as well as our legal and PR teams. I don’t expect anything to come from this since we made sure to let Mandi know our course of action with Craig. We also offered her several support options should she need them and refunded her membership with the bonus of a free year if she wants to remain a member.

She was in good spirits when she left and as an experienced sub, she acted as if she understood the situation. She thanked me for how I handled everything. I hate that I ever needed to, but am glad I was there.

It’s past midnight when I get home. Since I have an early morning workout with the team trainer tomorrow, I crash as soon as my head hits the pillow.

ChapterForty

• BRADY •

Willa emailed me earlier today to let me know Mandi was okay, but not expecting anything to come from the incident was wishful thinking. As I leave the stadium, I check my phone to see a shocking number of missed calls and texts.

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