Dark Signs

1

A call from a private number popped up on my phone screen earlier today while I was on my lunch break at work. I answered but was greeted with nothing but heavy breathing followed by a disconnection tone after about a minute.

My heart was racing, and my blood thrummed through my veins like liquid fire.

Could this be it?

Endless depraved possibilities surged through my mind, and I spent the rest of the day completely drenched. My thong was soaked at the mere anticipation.

Was I finally going to get my deepest kinks and sinful desires fulfilled?

I had been utterly distracted for the rest of my shift, my skin felt itchy and too tight on my bones. Every time I moved, my skin-tight skirt restricted my movements, forcing my thighs that were now slick with my desire, to rub together.

I ached to be filled, to be touched. I had never been so pent up with pure, unadulterated need.

My small office cubicle seemed even smaller today, the paperwork for the soon-to-be-mine high profile client was strewn across my desk in haphazard piles that only made sense to me .

I was about to win the client of the century, a heavy hitter in the entrepreneur world, he owned four out of the five nightclubs that circled central London, and I was about to secure his loan for the fifth.

Today was not the day for me to be distracted. I had a deadline to meet, and I really needed this extra bit of commission money to make the final instalment to Eden's Vices.

I let out an exasperated moan as I looked back to my computer screen, the spreadsheet I had been working on had once again found an error and completely fucked up my entire calculation.

Sophia popped her head over our cubicle divider and motioned for me to follow her to the bathrooms at the end of the office.

Sophia had started at Moon and Hound Finance only a few weeks after I had, and we immediately became inseparable. She was my reason to keep coming back here, day after day. The pay wasn't amazing, but it helped me keep my apartment and fund my unholy obsession with dark and monster romance novels which got me into the current predicament I now found myself in. I dawdled into the small but tidy bathrooms after her, keeping an inconspicuous distance between when she entered and I. We were known to often get on the wrong side of Theo, our CEO from time to time.

Usually Sophia could sweet talk her way out of a reprimanding, but Theo scared the shit out of me, and I couldn't talk myself out of a paper bag.

Once I was close enough, Sophia pulled me inside by my wrist and backed me up against the wall. She was dressed in a simple blazing red slip dress that showed off her ample cleavage that hugged all of her perfect curves. Her auburn hair was pulled back into a low bun, not a strand out of place, and her make-up looked like she just walked out of a beauty salon after just having a complete makeover. Her wrists jingled with the stack of gold bracelets she always wore on her left arm .

She was always so perfectly put together and I hated her for it.

“What's eating at you, today?” She asked. Her strawberry and melon scent surrounded me. She even smelled good. I rolled my eyes and settled against the wall opposite her.

“It's nothing.”

“Ivy, I know you, and I know this isn't nothing. You haven't stopped huffing since you got back from lunch.” She reached into her bra and pulled out a small flask from between her breasts. “For emergencies.” She said with a wicked smirk.

I blanched at her as she undid the lid and took a swig before she held it out to me, her bracelets clanging together again.

“What the hell, no. That would be as warm as piss, Sophia.” I said disgustedly. “And what would Theo say?” I tacked on in a whisper. I really didn't feel like getting on the wrong side of him, not today.

“Your loss.” She smirked and upended the flask. “And what about Theo, the big dopey puppy dog that he is.” She winked.

I watched on in sheer amazement at the ease in which she downed the straight liquor. Not even a slight wince crossed her face when she was done, capping the small flask and placing it safely back between her cleavage. Theo was far from a puppy, more like a Hellhound in my opinion.

“Honestly, I think I'm just over thinking about winning this client, this could be huge for me Soph.” I replied with a sigh and leaned my head against the wall. “Plus I really need the commission money.”

She had no idea what I had gotten myself into, and I planned to keep it that way.

“You know I can spot you if you're behind on bills, babe.”

That was the amazing thing about Sophia. She was always willing to help, I'd never had a friend like her.

“Thank you, but no. I got this one.” I replied abashedly.

“Has it got something to do with that phone call you got earlier?” She prodded with a waggle of her eyebrows.

“What do you mean? What phone call? I didn't get a phone call.” I lied, badly, standing at attention .

“I saw your eyes light up like a Christmas tree on the first of December, girlie. You've been on edge ever since.”

Fuck.

“Oh. That, no. Just someone trying to sell something, that's all.” I swallowed past the growing lump of shame that had gathered in my throat.

“You're a terrible liar, Ivy Valentine.” She said as she leaned back on the edge of the sink, taking me in from head to toe.

“Can I help you?” I asked sarcastically as her eyes wandered.

“There is something off about you, and I can't quite put my finger on it.” She inhaled deeply, as if sniffing the shame I emitted from every pore on my body as I stenched up the air. “Fine,” she sighed dramatically. “If you're not going to indulge me with your juicy gossip, you have to get back to work. Clients to win, and all that.” She straightened and smoothed out her dress with a smirk.

I groaned and rubbed my hand down my face.

“But you're coming for drinks after work.”

“I don't –”

“No buts, miss missy. Meet me at DeVore.” And with that, she turned on her heel and stalked out of the bathroom with a sensual sway of her hips.

I sighed deeply again. She was the light of my day, but also the biggest pain in my ass.

I gave myself a once over in the bathroom mirror and was surprised at what I saw. I was indeed flushed. My cheeks were rosy, my eyes were bright.

I hadn't been this excited for a… Well, I don't think I ever have been.

The day seemed to drag on, I kept glancing at the clock.

Three P.M.

Three-Fifteen P.M.

The spreadsheet kept finding more errors which took up the rest of my day trying to fix. I kept my huffing to a minimum, for Sophia's sake. But on the inside, I felt like I could explode. My bones were practically vibrating with excitement and tension. When the time had finally come to finish for the day, I raced to the bathroom and gave myself a final once over in the mirror before I left, touching up my mascara and adding a little more red to the fullness of my lips. I’ll be damned if I was caught unprepared.

The instructions I had received from my club contact at Eden's Vices were clear after our last consultation, ‘They want you messy. They have stipulated that they want to see your make-up run, Miss Valentine.’

So, like the people pleasing girl that I was, my mascara was thick upon my lashes.

I didn't know how I ended up on the front steps of Eden's Vices two Friday evenings ago, but as I stood in the cold waiting for the buzzer of the intercom to sound my acceptance, I questioned my own sanity.

It was a spur of the moment decision after I had overheard an acquaintance speaking of a club that existed right here in London that enabled you to enact your deepest, darkest and most depraved desires. Such desires that I wouldn't have even considered entertaining until I delved deeper into this world of sin and pleasure.

“What brings you to Eden’s Vices, Miss Valentine?” Chloe, my club representative, asked after introductions had been made. She was a slight woman, probably in her early thirties if I had to guess. Circular clear framed glasses sat atop her nose. Her perfect blonde hair was cut into a short, sharp bob with thick bangs that framed her face. Her lips were painted to a nude perfection and her cats-eye winged liner was sharp enough to cut a man, I was seriously impressed.

She was also dressed in the most expensive looking pants suit I had ever seen. Belted up with a designer buckle. The crisp white blouse beneath had glittering golden buttons, also pressed with the same designer insignia, and a large pussy bow was tied around her neck. I felt completely out of place here in my Doctor Marten boots and fishnet stockings.

“Ivy, please.” I insisted as I took a seat opposite her, she sat behind a simplistic but modern desk that didn't have nearly as much paperwork covering it as my own did. “I have heard that your club comes highly recommended within the, ah…” I cleared my throat. I was so awkward when it came to speaking about sex. I twisted my fingers together in front of me.

“Yes, Miss Valentine.” Chloe replied, finishing my unspoken sentence. Also ignoring my informal request. “We come highly recommended within the kink and BDSM communities. We have many high-profile clients on our books. We take pride in our professionalism, safety and confidentiality.” She stated matter-of-factly.

“I was hoping that you could help, um, pair me with someone that shared the same… interests as I do.” I stuttered out unprofessionally.

“Of course, Miss Valentine.” Chloe stated with a smile. “That is why this club exists after all.”

“Okay.” I breathed.

We then went on to discuss my desires, understand what I was hoping to gain from my experience using the clubs services, and to nut out the finer details.

“Now, safe words and signals.” Chloe clasped her hands together in front of her, leaning forward on her chair. “We take these very, very seriously, Miss Valentine. Do you have a word prepared, or shall I issue you with one of ours?”

“Oh, one yours please.” I hadn't ever needed a safe word before. My life prior to this had been very… bland.

“Very well.” She opened her binder full of my information and flipped a few pages until she found what she was looking for. “Sundown is the word you shall use, Miss Valentine. Does that suit?” She asked.

I nodded in agreement, it would be hard to mistake that word for another.

“Please, Miss Valentine I cannot stress enough that you do use your safeword if you ever feel unsafe or scared.” She insisted. “I promise your partner will stop the scene immediately and aftercare will ensue.” Her eyes were intensely searching my own, as if imploring me the importance of this. “And if you ever cannot speak for whatever reason, you are to make this symbol with your fingers.” She held up her hand and held her middle finger down with her thumb. “Please, try. Some clients have trouble making some of the signs.” She urged.

I made the sign. She nodded as if pleased with my performance and went back to her binder.

“Next thing, if you are overwhelmed in a scene and need a break or a pause, please use the word Tomb. This is a slowword. It will not end a scene completely, but it shows your partner that you are nearing capacity, or something they are doing isn't quite right, they will check in.” She continued. “Once again, if you for any reason cannot speak, please use this sign.” She crossed her middle finger across the pointer and held it out for me to see. She did not need to ask me to try it out, as I held my hand up to show her my signal.

“Thank you, Miss Valentine.” She said with a smile. “I am very glad to have you on board.”

We went through a contract that was well over a few hundred pages long. Some of the words and phrases I didn't quite understand, and there were a whole lot of legal terms, but Chloe was nothing but patient as we sifted through page after page of statements, conditions, clauses and NDA’s.

Everything that I could think of was taken into account and I felt very safe and welcomed.

We discussed the membership fee, which wasn't cheap. A deposit paid today with the final instalment to be made at the end of the month.

I handed her my credit card with a shaking hand, and just like that, I was a member of Eden's Vices. She had insisted she would call me when she had found my match.

That call came through three days ago, and I don't think I have been the same since.

I didn't want to know the when, or the how, but I knew it was coming.