Boss

“It can be overwhelming,” he said.

She was glad for the reprieve.

While he dropped his bag onto a chair, she studied the surroundings, seeing a cozy, elegant bar off to the left, with waitresses clad in flowing goth-looking dresses.

“We’ll have a walk around. Let you get comfortable.”

Over here, the music was somewhat muted, and she was able to talk to him conversationally. “I’m not sure whether I can go through with that pole thing.”

“There are a couple of others in more private spaces.”

“That’s not reassuring.”

“You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do. You have a safe word, and I’ll be watching you.”

She knew that was true.

Pulling out her leash, he asked, “Are you brave enough for this?”

Ice dripped down her spine.

She forced herself to remain calm so she could think. A part of her found it to be a humiliating idea, but she realized she’d be close to him. Then she remembered the way it had looked the other day. “Yes, Sir,” she whispered.

“Fuck. Kelsey. Kelsey, my Kelsey.” He clipped it onto the D-ring, and she curled her fingers around it. “You okay?”

“I think so.” Slowly she dropped her hand. “Yes.”

“We’ll move at whatever speed you’re comfortable with.”

She drew a steadying breath.

“I’m going to leave the flogger here. We can come back for it later.”

Knowing he didn’t expect her to scene immediately reassured her.

“Ready? We can have a soft drink at the bar, if you want. Or we can walk around. Your choice.”

“Walk around,” she said, curiosity overcoming apprehension, at least temporarily.

He looped the leash around his hand a couple of times, ensuring she was close.

“So fucking proud to be with you, Kelsey.”

He made her heart soar.

When they entered the main area, she was surprised that no one seemed to notice them.

She thought, with the way she was on display and a leash, everyone would look at her, but most people were occupied with their own scenes and conversations.

A short woman walked past, followed by a tall blond man, wearing tight shorts and a top that was nothing more than a leather X. There was a leash attached. Another man, wearing only a pouch of sorts, crawled behind his Dom.

What she might have thought was unusual seemed to be the norm.

They walked past a Dom who was flogging a sub attached to a St. Andrew’s cross, while a female stood in front of her, a vibrator pressed hard against her pussy. The woman was screaming, her head tossed back.

A Club Monitor strolled over and offered a scarf, presumably to stuff in the poor sub’s mouth.

No one stared at any of the scenes. If they were watching, it was from a distance, and there was nothing overt about it. In a strange way, it was like being at any other club.

They passed one of the women dancing in a cage. Kelsey couldn’t help but reach up. Her hand went through the image.

“It looks real,” he said.

“Eerily so.”

“Bonds is part owner,” he said against her ear. “He’s got a division dedicated to perfecting holograms, believes they’ll change the world. Not just prerecorded projections, but real-time ones, meaning he could appear to be in a London meeting, sitting in a chair, or holding court, while he’s holed up in California.”

While he’d been talking to her, his intimate tone and the heat from his breath made her feel undeniably feminine. “I had no idea,” she said. “Having seen your watch, it makes sense.”

Nathan led her from the main part of the club and down a hallway to another small, more private space.

Music here was much different, more solemn, a chant of some kind. There were fewer people. There was a pole and a spanking bench. One was occupied by a gray-haired woman in a plaid miniskirt, tight white top, bobby socks and saddle shoes being spanked by a man wielding a wooden ruler.

While they stood there, separated by the scant foot or so of slack that Nathan allowed in the leash, they watched a male Dom approach the pole with his male sub walking in front of him. The sub cleaned the post then moved toward it with no hesitation.

In that instant, she was humbled.

The man got into position and his Dom secured him, as if they’d done it a dozen times. And maybe they had, she realized.

Nathan drew her to a nearby bench where they could watch without disturbing the scene.

The two were in tune with each other, evidently unconcerned with anyone else.

The Dom’s stunning black flogger fell again and again, and his sub appeared to absorb the blows rather than fighting them. The Dom spoke, even though she couldn’t make out the words, not that it mattered because it seemed the couple had their own form of communication.