Page 1 of S is for…

Chapter1

Lihn, Julen, Peter | Peter and Diann

No one washappy with the checklist game.

That probably wasn’tstrictlyaccurate, Lihn decided.He wasn’t sure how to feel yet.He was still considering.But most of the rumblings he was hearing were some combination of irritation and shock.

It didn’t help that the version of game he’d be playing was a little different.

At least one person, a sub, had decided to take the “out” the overseers had built into the game and leave, rather than play.Tareq, who an hour ago had been enjoying a beer in the parking lot with Lihn and three others, had intercepted his assigned submissive as she was making a break for it.Tareq’s charm halted her flight, and he and Nomiki were inside the club having a drink.

Ilias, another member of their Dom parking lot quintet, had peeled off to plan how to handle his letter, and his sub, not long after they moved inside.

If Lihn had the option, he would have done the same—found a chair, a drink, and then dedicated several hours to learning and planning.

For Lihn, things were a little more complicated than for Tareq or Ilias.Because he wasn’t the only Dom assigned to the letter S.

The overseers of Las Palmas had called an all-club meeting, and rather than announce they were selling the club, or raising dues—which had been Lihn’s top guesses—they instituted a mandatory game.

Every member of the club was assigned a partner and a letter of the alphabet.Together with their partner, orpartners, they had to work through the BDSM checklist.The checklist was a part of the club contract that every member filled out and signed upon admission.It was a non-comprehensive list of every toy, kink, power-play, and piece of equipment.The idea was that before anyone agreed to scene with another member, they could request that person’s checklist to see if their kinks were compatible.

In practice, few people ever requested a potential partner’s checklist.There was no real need, because most people knew what they wanted and liked and would communicate that during the pre-scene negotiation.

According to the club overseers, that was part of the problem.Members were stagnant in their play, repeating the same scenes, with the same partners, over and over again.

Rather than suggesting everyone try adding one new thing to their next scene, or hosting demos to get people interested in a new toy or technique, they found a way to force new pairings and diversified scene content.Lihn fully expected half the club to walk away and give up their membership rather than participate.Not just because being forced to do something went completely against the core beliefs of BDSM.Despite what the media might portray, consent was the foundation of the lifestyle.

Still, Lihn expected people to walk because the members of Las Palmas consisted of the Southland’s rich, influential, and kinky.

But so far, no one had actually left.

Including him…and his new partners.

“I say we split it up and knock it out.We could get it done tonight,” Peter said.

They were lingering in the large foyer of the club.It was the transition space between real life and the rule-laden but lawless world of the club.

There were several exits from the foyer.A large, key-pad locked door, led to the submissive-only locker room and lounge space called the Subs’ Garden.A massive set of double doors opened into a short hallway that in turn spilled out onto one of the manicured paths that connected the myriad center-courtyard buildings that made up the club grounds.

The symbolism of them stopping here, in a limbo space, wasn’t lost on Lihn.

“I can’t believe Shibari isn’t listed under S.”Julen was flipping through the papers they’d each received when assigned their letter.

Most of the letters in the alphabet had been assigned to only two people—a top and a bottom.

S, however, was such a long list that six people had been assigned.Three Doms, of which Lihn was one, and three subs.Julen and Peter were the other Doms.Each of them had received a thicker than normal packet of papers—photos, bios, and checklists for the three subs who completed their team of six.

“You mean partner up?”Lihn asked Peter.

“Yes, we each take one of the women and a chunk of the list.”

“They didn’t assign us each an individual sub,” Lihn pointed out.“We got all three women’s checklists.A team effort.”

“I hate group projects,” Peter said.

Lihn started to laugh, but Peter didn’t.He was dead serious.Lihn cleared his throat, “Ah, yes, well, group projects are there to teach us why Batman works alone.”

Peter and Julen both shot him weird looks.

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