CHAPTER 16
Sutton
At the top of the bag was something that I didn’t expect.
Or maybe I did, but I just couldn’t admit it to myself.
It was scandalizing. A small camera and a tablet rested neatly on top of a pile of clothes.
Harshly slanting words written on a sticky note stuck to the back of the tablet told me the tablet code and that was all.
I nervously opened the tablet and my breath froze in my throat when the first thing I saw was a video of Theo.
He was sitting at a bank of computer screens, his jaw tight and eyes narrowed in concentration as he typed something.
I sat on the edge of my bed and looked down at the camera.
Was it live? Had he given me live access to a camera in his space?
A message popped up on the tablet screen.
Only turn the camera on if you want to, Sutton.
I stood up, surprised when the message vanished and then I could see Theo looking up at the camera.
It felt like he was looking into my soul as his lips tipped higher on one side.
It was too much for my racing heart so I put the tablet down and focused on the outfit that’d been left for me.
The camera played at the back of my mind as I hoped and crossed my fingers that they hadn’t chosen something leather or revealing for me to wear.
Another sticky note fell out with the clothes and it only took one glance to know Theo hadn’t written it. The large, sharp letters told me to wear the clothes and be ready by ten.
Ten? That was typically my bedtime. At least it had been before I went to my interview with Dominic. I couldn’t exactly request an earlier appointment with them, though, so I crumpled the note in my hand and glanced back at the camera.
Theo had unlocked something inside me I hadn’t known was there.
When I told myself it was wrong to go to the sex club and explore my sexuality, I still had the will power to agree and want to struggle a bit.
When I told myself delving into whatever voyeuristic games Theo wanted to play was a bad idea, my brain just went silent.
I stroked the cool plastic of the camera and chewed on my bottom lip.
I could turn it off at any time, I reasoned.
It wasn’t like turning on a camera meant anything.
I flipped it over and found the power button.
Without giving myself time to find my negative reasoning, I hit the button and walked over to the desk to put the camera down.
I didn’t look back at it as I grabbed the clothes and held them up, piece by piece.
I wasn’t really seeing them because a wicked sensation broke out over my entire body.
Theo was watching. It was alarming how sure I felt that I could feel his eyes ghosting over my body.
The tablet beeped and when I unlocked it, I saw Theo standing behind his chair, hands tense as he gripped it. He was staring at one of the screens and I saw that it was a new one. Mine.
He’d sent a message.
I want to see your bed. Move the camera.
I was moving before the message disappeared.
I twisted the camera so it captured my bed and the doorway to my bathroom.
I looked back at the tablet and saw Theo leaning in to watch me.
I shyly glanced at the camera and gave him a small smile.
My body was practically vibrating with the adrenaline rush that was Theo.
Giving into my desires made me feel wild, like I could run a marathon or go sky-diving.
Get ready, Sutton.
I blew out a shaky breath and nodded, at him or myself, I wasn’t sure.
I stayed aware of the camera and what it was or wasn’t able to catch.
I slipped into the bathroom with the clothes clutched to my chest and stilled when I caught my reflection in the mirror.
My eyes looked brighter and my skin was flushed. I looked alive.
I stood there and stared at myself for too long. Seeing myself in a new light had me on the verge of panicking. I’d slept in their house for one night and already looked different. What would two months do to me? Who would I be when it was time to return to school?
When I’d given into my anxiety for long enough, I quickly dressed in the clothes they’d provided and then had to take more time to stare at myself and panic some more.
I was covered from shoulder to knee but the skirt clung to my hips and butt.
The shirt wasn’t any better. It was snug, too snug.
The buttons gaped over my chest and the silky material left nothing to the imagination.
I could see the curve of my stomach and the outline of my bra. Even the color.
I was impressed by the fit of the clothing, nothing was too tight, in that it cut into my skin or fit poorly. It was perfectly fitted, just too tight for my sanity. I’d never put my body on display in the way their chosen outfit would.
I pulled my hair down and spread it out over my chest to hide as much as I could. Then I pulled on the Mary Janes from the bottom of the bag and pushed my glasses up. If the outfit had been two sizes larger it would’ve been completely innocent and perfectly suited for school. If only…
I walked back into the bedroom and found my baggiest cardigan. Shrugging into it, I glanced back at the camera and inhaled deeply. What did Theo think?
A message came in on my phone and I saw it was Dominic requesting my presence in the foyer.
I was shaking like a leaf in a storm and feeling pretty ridiculous over it.
It was just an outfit. I had on about one thousand percent more clothing than some of the women I’d seen at the club the night of my interview.
I was nervous that the men waiting on me would see my stomach and change their mind about taking me to the club. What if they were embarrassed by me?
I almost ran back into my room but before I could, I felt a warm breath on the back of my neck.
I gasped and spun around, just to find Theo standing close, his face dark as he looked at my outfit.
I locked my hands in front of my stomach and wondered how embarrassing it would be to just burst into tears.
Theo took a step closer, nearly killing me as his body almost touched me all over.
“The only thing better than seeing you in this outfit would’ve been seeing you slide into it.”
I shuddered and searched his eyes for any sign of a lie. I only saw open attraction and something else, something darker. Theo liked the way I looked in my outfit. “I-I wasn’t sure if that was okay…if you didn’t want to see—”
Theo’s hand was hot and heavy as he squeezed my wrists while pulling my hands apart.
“Anything, Sutton. Anything and everything. That’s what I want to see you do. Just those few minutes of seeing you on my screen…I’ve found the border that separates heaven and hell and you have me straddling it.”
I sucked in a sharp breath and blinked as I tried to process his words. I didn’t get very far before he flashed me a hungry smile. It was a far cry from the polite smile he’d given me the first night. It was the smile a hunter flashed just before setting up their kill shot.
“Come on. Dom hates waiting.” He pressed his hand to my lower back and guided me downstairs.
Sure enough, Dominic was standing at the base of the stairs, glancing at his watch. Leon was leaning against the banister, a bored look on his face until he saw me. He straightened and rubbed his beard.
“Angel.”
Dominic frowned, though. He waited until I got to the bottom of the stairs to run his finger along the length of my cardigan. His knuckles brushed over the material covering my chest and his eyes darkened when I shivered.
“I don’t remember putting this sweater in the bag.”
Feeling like a little kid who’d messed up, I tugged at the long sleeves hanging below my fingertips.
“I thought it would—”
“Lesson one, Angel. The goal is to not think when we enter the club. You have to trust us to anticipate your needs. It’ll be different for us in that we aren’t going to meet some of those needs until you ask us to.
You have to trust us, Sutton. Trust is the most important thing you can give us.
” He gripped my shoulders suddenly and spun me around.
Pushing me forward, I had to catch myself with my hands on the stairs.
There was a sharp crack as he spanked me and then I felt a tug.
The sound of my cardigan ripping made me gasp and try to stand up but that just earned me another spanking.
When my cardigan was just two pieces of material hung up on my arms, he let me stand and spun me back around to remove the remnants. I was so shockingly angry that I wanted to slap him. My scalp tingled with rage but I forced all of it back down deep and slowly unclenched my hands.
“You were close to letting go of that control, weren’t you?” Leon let out a low laugh. “I think our angel has a dark side that’s just waiting to come out.”
Dominic tossed the pieces of my cardigan away and gripped my chin.
“Lesson two. You follow our directions. Unless I ask you to wear a sweater to the club, you don’t wear one. There’s not going to be any hiding when we’re there.”
I ducked my head and nodded. The deep and stern way he was speaking to me made me want to crawl through the floor and disappear, but it also created a sense of peace in me that I didn’t understand. It quieted some of the loudest voices in my head.
“I’ll replace your cardigan, Angel. I’ll have several made just like it for you.” Dominic blew out a sharp breath. “You make me fucking crazy.”
I didn’t point out that I hadn’t done a single thing. He was right about the crazy thing, though, and as soon as my brain came back online I was going to tell him just what I thought about him ripping my sweater.
“I think we found a pretty little subbie, didn’t we?” Leon pushed away from the banister and frowned at my hair. “It’s beautiful, Angel, but it’s hiding you. If lesson two is doing as you're told, lesson three will be not hiding from us. Put your hair up, sweetheart.”
“Only when we’re at the club, right? Doing as I’m told, I mean.” I had a ponytail holder on my wrist so I made quick work of putting my hair in a high pony. I wanted to ask what he meant when he called me that word but he had other plans.
Leon immediately wrapped it around his hand a few times and nodded.
“Much better.”
Dominic took my hand and tugged me forward.
“Unless you change your mind, you’ll only have to do as you're told at all times when we’re at the club or going to the club, like now. I don’t think you mind, though, do you?”
I wanted to argue.
I should’ve argued.
I didn’t.