Chapter 10
PATRICK
Though not SEAL team material, my team members had military backgrounds, underwent careful vetting, and represented a diverse range of experiences. Some spoke several languages, and we paid them well to do their job and to keep their mouths shut.
Some were in the lifestyle, and others became so while working here. Others were regular vanilla people doing a job. We didn’t discriminate, but we preached respect, tolerance, and discretion.
After the meeting, I sat back and watched Kylie interact with the team.
Her confidence was palpable. Her former position garnered her some respect, but it would be up to her to prove herself to the team.
Martin, Josh’s head of security, and she got familiar quickly.
She asked the right questions, and they seem relevant to her looking after Tinley.
Even with the theory of her ulterior motives, her primary goal, we hoped, was to keep the girls safe.
We ran through some training drills for Team One and Kylie kept up as if she’d been doing it for years. She even offered other team members some tips on moving in such a sizable space with multiple sight lines needing to be covered. She impressed the hell out of everyone, even me.
The next three weeks fell into a comfortable rhythm.
Kylie worked tirelessly, sifting through mile's worth of data to find targets to expose. She attended all security meetings and training sessions. On the morning of the site visit, she was almost giddy with anticipation.
The weekly security meeting just broke up.
“Shuttle to the venue leaves in twenty minutes.” Branson, the head of Quad IV security and the point person for the outing, called out across the room. The team filed out.
I pulled Martin aside.
“What do you think about Kylie?”
“She’s good. Inquisitive, knowledgeable. She’s short for guard duty, but her FBI background means she knows how to use a gun.”
“Yeah, look at her scores in the gun range from the last couple of weeks.” I chuckled. “Outshot us all.”
“The girls have met her and like her.” He nodded. “I told you it would be good to have a woman in the role.”
“Just keep an eye on her, okay?” I patted him on the back. “Until she’s up to speed.”
“Sure thing.” He headed toward the bus. “You coming to the venue?”
I searched the room for Kylie. I wouldn’t normally need to, but for some reason I didn’t want to let Kylie out of my sight.
“Yeah, I’ve got some time.” I nodded. “I’ll meet you there.”
Kylie stopped by the door and looked back.
“Come on, Kylie.” Martin guided her out the door. “You stay close to me.”
Close to me. Why did his word choice piss me off?
The newest attraction in Las Vegas, The Sphere, was a marvel.
It was shaped exactly as the name implied.
The projection outside was a constant cluster of pixels, forming images that shifted endlessly across the domed surface.
It was currently showing images of the Quadrangle, for our benefit, no doubt. A nice touch to make us feel welcome.
The whole outing was actually Rayna’s idea.
When she expressed interest in seeing the show, Kyler knew she’d want to be in the middle of the action and he wasn’t quite ready for that, but renting out the whole place for the four of them and a security team wouldn’t quite capture the magic the audience adds to the show.
I had seen it and suggested we incorporate it in the littles’ night.
The venue was more than accommodating, especially when you had a guaranteed sold-out show. Especially when Kyler Grant asked.
I couldn’t wait to see the littles faces when they experienced it.
It would be much like Kylie's face right now as the hologram of the Wizard of Oz projected into the air in the building lobby. He looked almost real, as if he could reach down and grab you.
Her face lit up as she fidgeted, a nervous energy transformed into giddy excitement. Her pretty blue eyes swept across the ceiling, trying to take it all in.
Other grown men who I was sure didn’t identify as little were equally astonished, but I knew they would refocus and do their jobs. With Kylie, I wasn’t so sure.
She flinched when the witch virtually flew by.
The group proceeded through the rest of the venue, the head of The Sphere security pointing out areas and guiding us on the same path the guests in our group would arrive.
I walked over to Kylie. “Pretty amazing, right?”
“Oh, my goodness.” Her voice came out high-pitched. She stopped and took a quick exhale. “It really is impressive.”
“Yeah, Rayna and Tinley will enjoy it.”
“What little wouldn’t?”
“What about your little?”
She looked around us, but the team had moved into another part of the venue.
“I don’t think we should talk about that.” She turned away from the small stage that hosted the lobby performance. “Not here.”
She shuffled away from me in the direction of the group.
“Kylie, wait.”
She stopped and then spun and walked back to me. Her eyes were dark and glaring. She had her small hands balled up into a fist.
“If you think I can’t do my job because suddenly my little is going to rush out of me and start giggling and clapping her hands, you’re wrong.” She clapped her hands for emphasis. “I am not that kind of little.”
“I didn’t say you—”
“I’m not a little at all.”
“Kylie—”
“Or you are waiting for her to come out so you can make a fool of me.” She interrupted me again. Her features tightened into a frustrated scowl. Her ears turned red. I had to restrain myself from reaching out and touching her.
“I participate in age play every once in a while, but I’m not a little—”
“Kylie.” My Dom voice shut her up.
Guiding her away from curious eyes and ears, I tamped down the urge to put her over my knee and spank her, even though she desperately needed it.
“I’m sorry.” She leaned against the wall, her chin to her chest, hugging herself. She looked awfully little to me. “I didn’t mean to panic like that.”
“You want to tell me why?” I stood across from her, giving her some space. “Why are you so hell bent on denying your true self? I mean, clearly, in this environment, we are well aware of what being a little is all about.”
“I can’t do my job and be a little.” She whispered, her chin still pressed to her chest. She hid her face.
“From what you’ve told me, your little doesn’t typically spontaneously burst into your consciousness.”
“I’ve never been in an environment like this.” She sighed. “I don’t know why it’s happening now.”
“Kylie, look at me.”
She gave her head a little shake.
“Kylie.”
She dropped her hands and peeked up at me. Tears welled in her eyes, yet a glimmer of hope remained. They were so bright and mesmerizing.
“I accept you may be unsure in this new environment, and we are kind of throwing you headfirst into a little’s fantasy, but one thing I hope you’ve discovered about me,” I stepped closer to her. “I would never put Tinley and Rayna in a dangerous position, and I chose you to look after them.”
“But what if–-”
“No what ifs.” I lifted her chin. “I trust you to do your job. And remember, you’re not alone. You always have back up.”
“And what if something happens?”
“Then something happens, and we deal with it.” Kyler’s words rang in my head.
It continued to bug me. I wasn't there when Rayna and Tinley needed me the most, but I was learning to let go. I couldn’t be on duty twenty-four seven, and no one expected me to be.
“Things are going to happen. It’s life. And until Kyler buys that little island off the coast of South America and orders everyone he loves there and we close ourselves off from the world in a perfect isolated utopia, we just have to deal with life as it comes. ”
“Is he really going to do that?” A sudden, sharp interest lit her eyes. Probably shouldn’t have given her that ammunition to fuel her fears about the Grants. Of course he wasn’t thinking like that, at least I didn’t think so.
“No, I just mean we can’t always control our environment, so we deal with it the best way we know how.” I patted her on the shoulder. “You are going to be fine.”
“Thank you.”
“But I also think you should get to know your little a bit when you can. You might understand her better if you let her have some time out in the sunshine.”
“Would you. . .” her voice trailed off and her eyes grew wide. “Never mind.”
“What were you going to ask?”
She shook her head widely. Her blond curls danced around her head. “We should get back to the group.” She slid to her left, careful not to touch me, and hurried across the floor to catch up with the others. Was she about to ask for my help with her little?
The thought lingered in my mind and made my heart ache, and my pants became unbelievably tight.
Keep it together, Patrick.
I caught up with the group inside the theater.
The program director showed us the seating and talked about the production.
I spotted Kylie near Martin, taking notes.
They pointed out a section where they would put Kyler, Josh, Tinley, and Rayna and confirmed where Kylie would sit.
I imagined this would be the most secure screening of the show to date.
We completed the walk-through and then all collectively walked to the area where the buses would shuttle the group back to the Quad.
I watched from a distance while Kylie joked around with the other staff.
She’d introduced herself to the two other female guards at her first team meeting, and they hit it off.
They both worked full-time at Quad IV and were among the favorites of the staff there, especially the house submissive.
Kylie stopped before entering the bus. Her eyes searched but couldn’t find me.
I liked the idea of her looking for me. Seeking my approval.
It was doing wonders for my ego and bringing up feelings I had pushed down a long time ago.
I sat in my car and waited until the bus pulled away before pulling off.
On the street, the bus turned left. I turned right, needing some distance.
Everyone under my watch was secure. Las Vegas had plenty of BDSM clubs for play, only one matched the level of Quad IV.
I pulled into the private parking garage and punched my code into the access gate keypad.
The entrance was an undecorated steel door with a keypad and a thumbprint scanner.
Kyler and Josh and I had visited, mainly to scope out the competition, but we ended up joining and frequenting the place before Quad IV was constructed.
“Mr. Carmichael.” A young man stood at the end of a short, dark hallway in front of a set of glass double doors. He wore a black suit with a dark shirt and a leather tie. His blond hair pulled back and secured in a ponytail. “It’s been a long time.” He tapped at his screen.
“Hi, yeah, it’s been a while.” While we were no longer dues-paying members, we offered mutual reciprocity with certain VIP members of each club, and that included Josh, Kyler, Chandler, and me.
Most of us followed a simple rule: don’t scene where you sleep.
Chandler broke that rule under the guise of training.
As the unofficial Master of Quad IV, he didn’t need to maintain a professional distance like the rest of us.
“Is there a particular scene or sub you’d like me to assist in setting up for you?” He tapped again. “We have two house subs who are quite versed in age play. I can send them over to say hello.”
“Why don’t we just see where the night takes me, okay?”
“Of course.” He opened the door and stepped to the side, allowing me to walk in.
Since my last visit, the place had been updated.
The vast space was nothing more than a lounge like you’d find in any hotel on the strip, but the people here were in varied degrees of undress.
Exhibition rooms occupied the far wall. One of the four rooms was currently occupied by two Doms in a scene with a tall, statuesque sub suspended in ropes with a blissed-out expression on her face.
I watched the scene continue until the room next door caught my eye.
It was, I assume, the two house subs in frilly dresses, one pink and one yellow.
The one in yellow came in clutching a dolphin stuffie in one hand and a pacifier between her lips.
She sucked with vigor, and her doe eyes scanned the room.
She opened a chest in the corner and pulled out another doll and conducted a full-on conversation with both.
I couldn’t hear them, but they were quite animated.
The one in pink skipped toward the window and looked out as if she could see.
Her mouth opened in a giggle, and she flopped down on the floor and pulled a coloring book and crayons out of the chest and started coloring.
Her pink tongue sticking out as she concentrated on staying in the line.
They were both adorable. It may have been an act for my benefit, but they seemed to be enjoying themselves.
I walked over to the glass and placed a hand on it, watching them interact.
They were as carefree and happy in only the way a little can be.
It would do me some good to spend time with littles.
Get in some daddy practice. It was what house subs were for.
The club hired them to submit to club members for an hour or a day at a time.
No strings attached. A strong feeling started to resonate within my soul.
The emotion that previously caused me to stop playing.
The empty feeling that would consume me when it was over.
Pretending with someone who was paid to be what I wanted them to be.
My disappointment in myself grew for yielding to those urges when I should have reserved all my energy for my forever little girl.
Should be saved for Kylie.