As she’d surmised, it fit perfectly. The stays, however, were pressing uncomfortably against her barbell nipple jewelry. Pulling down the bodice, she stared at the jewelry, which John had bought for her without asking for her input, and which she’d never removed except for cleaning.
She’d been thrilled at the time, but now, staring at herself in the mirror, she found she no longer wanted to wear John’s jewelry on her breasts. Moving closer to the mirror, she unscrewed the little metal balls that held the barbells in place, and removed them from her nipples. Without thinking twice about it, she dropped them into the trash.
Pleased with herself, she readjusted the bodice of the corset and again admired herself in the full-length mirror in Sheri’s bedroom. She had to laugh. She had a sexy new BDSM outfit, but nowhere to show it off.
She had absolutely no intention of allowing herself to be seduced into something that wasn’t right for her. What had happened with John was a stark reminder of how very wrong things could go. Next time, if there was a next time, she would listen to her gut.
But that didn’t mean she couldn’t pop into one of the clubs just to check things out. She wanted to see if the embers of her submissive self still glowed somewhere deep inside, or if John had snuffed them out completely. Going to a public club would be a good way to dip a toe back into the BDSM waters.
She instantly thought of Paddles, but quickly nixed the idea. John might be there, trolling for another sub to ensnare. While she was pretty sure he wouldn’t try to mess with her in a public venue, she had zero interest in testing that theory.
There were other places she could check out. Hadn’t Eric mentioned a place he liked to go to in Chelsea? She closed her eyes as she tried to recall.
Salome something, that was it.
Pulling out her phone again, she did a quick search on Salome+BDSM+Chelsea.
Salome’s Lair appeared in the search engine, with a listing on Google maps and a link to a website. From the photos on the site, the place looked awesome. The cover charge was pretty steep—sixty bucks for guys, half that for women. But even as she pondered if the splurge was worth it, she already knew what she was going to do. She might or she might not engage in a scene. She would decide when the time came, and it would be on her terms.
But whatever came of it, one thing was certain.
Rowan Georgiou was stepping out tonight.
Chapter 17
Eric walked inside the small club that Friday night, his gear bag over his shoulder. It had been too long since he’d been to Salome’s. He lingered at the entrance a moment, taking it all in.
Unlike most clubs he’d been to over the years, Salome’s Lair wasn’t just a converted basement space with concrete floors and scene stations set up in haphazard formation, surrounded by cinder block walls. Michael and Olivia’s place was more like someone’s large, elegant living room. The lighting was muted, and classical music piped in from hidden speakers. The floors were polished hardwood, and in addition to scene stations, chairs and loveseats were set up here and there in conversational groupings, along with a well-stocked recovery space at the back. Located off the main room were several private playrooms, available on a first-come, first-serve basis.
About half of the dozen or so scene stations were partially or totally hidden by privacy screens. The other half were on display, since many in the scene enjoyed the exhibitionist nature of club play. As Michael liked to quip, they came there not just to scene, but to be seen.
“Welcome to Salome’s Lair. The cover is sixty dollars. Is this your first time?” A young man Eric didn’t recognize stood behind the small podium at the entrance that was usually manned by either Michael or his wife.
“No,” Eric said, pulling out his wallet. “Though it’s been a while. I didn’t realize Michael and Olivia had hired someone for the door.”
“I’m Josh, the new assistant manager,” the guy said importantly as he accepted Eric’s money.
“Nice to meet you, Josh. I’m Eric.”
“Hey, look who’s here.” Michael appeared, smiling as he approached.
“Eric, darling,” Olivia cried, appearing just behind her husband. She moved toward Eric with open arms. She looked gorgeous, as always, dressed tonight in a sexy red leather sheath minidress that hugged her voluptuous curves, her long blond hair hanging loose down her back. “We were just talking about you.”
“I’m afraid to ask,” Eric said with a grin as they separated. Glad for a chance to change the subject, he looked toward the new hire. “So, you guys finally hired someone to help out? That’s great.”
“Yeah,” Michael agreed. “Business is booming. We’ve been talking about getting some help for a while, but now it’s especially important. From now on Josh will be closing up for us so we don’t need to put in such late nights. Olivia’s going to need her rest going forward.” He lightly touched his wife’s still-flat abdomen, his face beaming with pride and happiness. “After all, she’ll be sleeping for two now.”