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Chapter Seven.
"It looks like a bar." Abby heard the disappointment in her own voice. She was wearing these G.o.d-awful heels for this?
She looked all around her. It was a decadent bar, but it was just a bar as far as she could tell. There was a certain Roman orgy scene going on. All the seats were chaise lounges or large ottomans. The room was dominated by a huge chandelier with real candles providing the illumination. The small tables were covered in plates of fruit, cheese, or chocolates. Finger foods. They were all things that were easy to feed to your lover.
Sam shook his head and gestured around the room. "This is just the outer room, baby. Consider it a staging area. People mingle here before and after."
"Before and after what?"
"Before and after they play," Sam said with a wicked little smile.
"Sam! Oh, my G.o.d, Sam Fleetwood?"
Abby looked over, and a statuesque blonde was making her way toward Sam. She wore very little in the way of clothing. She had on leather boy shorts and a black leather bustier. Her long, long legs were covered with fishnet hose and ended in stilettos. Her blonde hair was pulled back in a severe ponytail that just accentuated her amazing bone structure. She could be a model.
Sam flashed the woman an open grin that let Abby know he really considered her a friend. Abby did not fail to note that the woman had a perfectly toned body.
Stop it, she told herself. He"s here with you. He married you.
Only Jack had married her, too, and he wasn"t here.
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The blonde threw herself into Sam"s arms.
"I can"t believe you"re here." The blonde was breathless as she hugged Sam. "Julian said there were some special guests coming tonight. I didn"t know he meant you."
"I think he probably meant Jack," Sam said with a self-deprecating laugh. He gently pulled himself out of the embrace. "He"s here somewhere, more than likely with Julian. Laura, this is my wife, Abigail. Abby, this is an old friend of mine, Laura Michaels."
Laura turned to Abby. She smiled and held out a hand. She seemed genuinely nice. Abby shook her hand. "It"s nice to meet an old friend of Sam"s."
"I couldn"t believe when I heard they finally found a woman they wanted to marry." Laura leaned in as though telling a secret. "I figured Sam would, but Jack? He was always so picky. You must be an amazing woman." She turned to Sam. "Is Jack going to be in the dungeon tonight? Did anyone warn the Doms? Jack can be hard on them if he thinks they"re not using the proper techniques."
"Who"s the in-house now?"
Abby had never heard the term. She glanced between Laura and Sam, hoping someone would give her a definition.
"That used to be Jack"s job," Laura explained. "The in-house Dom is the one in residence. He makes sure all the dungeon security is properly trained, and he gives cla.s.ses for clients. He runs scenes."
"Like spanking and stuff?"
"If that"s what the client wants," Laura agreed. "Sometimes it"s as simple as a spanking. Sometimes it"s more complex, with scripted dialogue and practicing before going public. It can get very complicated. Leo Meyer is the Dom in residence."
Sam nodded. "I"ve heard he"s good. I never met him, though.
Julian trained him, so he must be good."
Laura smiled but noticed someone waving at her. "I better get to work. It"s good to see you, Sam." She nodded to Abby and went on her way.
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"So..." Abby watched the blonde retreat.
Sam tried his high voltage smile on her. When she didn"t return it or move to another subject, he gave her his sad puppy smile. "Yes, I slept with her. It was a long time ago. I slept with everyone, Abby.
You know that about me."
"I know you had a blonde habit before." There was no real heat behind the accusation. That was all in the past.
Sam ran his hands through her hair. "Now I just like redheads."
"I know," she said, leaning into him. "I"m sorry. I"m being ridiculously jealous."
Sam gestured up and down his body. "Baby, if you weren"t, I"d call you crazy. This is a whole lotta man right here."
Abby snorted. "Show me the rest of the club. If this is just a staging area, where"s the rest?" Now that she listened carefully, she could hear thumping music coming from somewhere. The music in the staging area was low so people could talk. It was s.e.xy, but quiet.
Abby glanced around the bar area. There were several couples sitting and talking. She noticed that many of the women reclined at their men"s feet. They didn"t speak, but rested their heads against the men"s thighs.
She liked the picture. Jack used to insist on it. It was one of the surefire ways to get him to relax. She would take off her clothes and rest at his feet, her head in his lap. The last time she had tried it was months ago. Jack had pulled her up and told her he didn"t want her to get cold. He also didn"t want her uncomfortable. He"d gotten her dressed and sat her beside him. She hadn"t tried it since.
Sam was watching her closely. "Do you want to sit down for a minute, baby?"
She shook her head. She knew what Sam would do. He would try to be Jack for her. He would try to fill that role. But she needed them both. "No, I think I"ll need the drink more after. Let"s go look."
Sam took her hand and led her toward a short hallway. There were sconces on the wall giving off soft light. There was a big guy at the
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end of the hall. He was large and bald. The ropy muscles covering his body told Abby he spent a lot of time in the gym. He looked at them and frowned.
"Where"s her collar?"
Sam"s eyes went straight to her neck. He hesitated and looked to Abby for guidance. "I didn"t think about it."
The bouncer shook his head. "For that matter, where"s yours, sub?
Where"s your Dom?"
Abby started to talk to tell the a.s.shole off. Sam stopped her by seeming to grow about a foot.
"She"s mine. She doesn"t need a f.u.c.king collar if I say she doesn"t need a collar," Sam said between clenched teeth. "I"m a VIP guest here. Is this the way Julian has his employees treat his guests? If that"s so, perhaps I should give him a call. I have his personal number. He can be down here in minutes to clear this up. Do you need me to call him?"
Abby held her breath as the bouncer actually cast his eyes away from Sam. "No, sir. I apologize for any misunderstanding. Please enjoy your evening."
Sam pulled her along into the next room.
"Wow. That was impressive." She"d never seen Sam act that way before.
"Well, baby, I watched Jack do that for a long time," Sam admitted. He ran his hand along her throat. "I should have gotten you a collar. I wasn"t thinking."
Abby put her hands on his waist. "Just talk like you did to the last guy, and I doubt anyone will give us any trouble." She looked around.
This was a huge s.p.a.ce. Like the bar before, it was richly decorated, though carpet had given way to hardwood floors. There were various s.p.a.ces set up with different themes. She recognized some of the settings. "It"s a playroom."
Sam nodded. "It"s a really big playroom. This is the milder of the two levels. This is for more playful scenes. The dungeon is one floor 82 down. On this level, there"s the bar, the playroom, several private dining rooms, and other s.p.a.ces. Do you see the doors in the back?"
She glanced toward the back of the softly lit room.
"Those are privacy rooms, but you should know there are mirrors that let people watch. It just gives the illusion of privacy. The red door leads to the orgy room. It"s just a big bed. If you walk in, expect to get f.u.c.ked and f.u.c.ked well by whoever happens to be there."
Abby felt a little hitch in her breath. "I think we should avoid that room."
"Good call." Sam looked like he was enjoying rocking her world a little bit. "How about we just watch for a while?"
She nodded and let him lead her. She felt like Alice in a really h.o.r.n.y Wonderland. A Domme in full leather regalia led her two male subs around on leashes. They crawled quickly behind her, trying to keep up with their mistress.
"Don"t look her in the eye," Sam warned.
Abby sent her eyes straight to the floor. It would be hard, but she had to remember the rules. Sam had spent a lot of time explaining them to her. She was to keep silent unless he gave her permission to speak. He was in charge of her. She wasn"t to look any of the Doms in the eyes. They would view it as a challenge. She was never, never to wander off on her own.
Sam stopped. "This looks like fun."
Abby took in the scene in front of her. It looked like it was just beginning.
"You called for me, sir?"
There was a young woman in an approximation of a 1960"s women"s business suit. She carried a small steno pad. There were two men in the scene as well. They both wore suits in keeping with the time period. One sat behind a desk, while the other occupied a large, leather armchair. They both considered the young secretary.
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"Yes, I did, Marilyn," the "boss" said. "We have a very important client here today. He needs to understand why he should sign with our firm rather than one of the other firms."
The scene went on. Abby felt a hand at her side. She turned to see Sally the sub watching, too.
Her eyes were full of mirth. "They watch too much Mad Men,"
she said quietly, so as not to disturb the scene. "Julian is struggling to keep up with the pop culture elements seeping into the lifestyle. It used to be simpler. All a club had to have was a gyno office, a cla.s.sroom, and a dungeon. Then the geeks took over. You should see the Harry Potter room. Those people are freaks. And I should know."
Vaguely, Abby noticed the secretary was taking off her top. The "boss" had a paddle in his hand. She looked back at Sally. She was dressed similarly to Abby, though she was all in black. Sally was wearing a bra instead of a corset. Abby noticed that two small chains came out of the bottom on the bra and made their way past Sally"s navel down into her skirt. Abby had a pretty good idea where that treasure trail ended.
Sam was watching the scene avidly as Sally continued to whisper.
"Seriously, some of these people are geeks of the first order. Julian took me to see Avatar, and at the end he just cried. He knew. He"s invested in blue body paint and a bunch of kitty cat tails. He"s opening the room in a month. He hates James Cameron."
Abby wanted to laugh and ask questions, but they had to get a few things straight. Little Sally had been a naughty girl. "Did you offer my husband a b.l.o.w. .j.o.b?"
Her eyes went down, and she chewed on her bottom lip. "Julian told me to be nice to him. It was the nicest thing I could think of."
"Do you often blow other women"s husbands?"
She shrugged and winced a little. "Probably more often than I think. Are you going to hit me? Julian would probably let you paddle me." Her blue eyes were wide.
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Sam was suddenly interested in what was going on between the two women. "Who"s paddling who? Is there going to be any kissing involved in this scene?"
Abby put a hand on both of them and dragged them away from the h.o.r.n.y advertising executives scene. She glanced back briefly. It did seem to be heating up. The secretary was having her bottom paddled by the "boss" while the "client" forced his very large p.e.n.i.s into her mouth. The girl could really get her jaw open. Maybe she gave out pointers.