Velvet Vault Collection

Chapter 1

One

Kate stood in front of the mirror as music by Halsey filled her small room.

With her heart thumping a steady anxious beat, she turned her head from side to side to insure that her dark hair was perfectly sleek from the smoothing lotion.

Kate added another coat of mascara, but didn’t add liner under her brown eyes.

She thought she should look polished, but also soft and sweet.

She put on light pink lipstick that matched her nail color.

Outside, in the common area, her laughing suite mates called out that they were leaving.

“Okay!” she said. “Have fun!” She’d told them she was going on a date, which wasn’t true. It was her cover story.

She sang along to Sorry, her hands fluttering nervously near her phone. There was still time to cancel. But she did really want to see it—the secret sex club that her thoughts had chased like a fading dream ever since she’d heard about it.

Outsiders, even those in the BDSM community, could never be sure whether the Marquis Club was real or an urban legend…

Unless they were invited to join. That was the way the club wanted it, and it went to great lengths to keep its location, members, and its very existence a secret.

That’s why the invitation Kate had gotten was so special.

Like a lot of other girls, Kate had been curious about the lifestyle.

But unlike a lot of girls who experimented with bondage and submission during sex to spice things up, Kate was drawn to it on a deeper level.

A traumatic experience early on had made her retreat into her fantasies, rather than exploring BDSM in real life as she longed to do.

It had taken over a year for her desires to get the best of her.

Eventually though, she’d tried again. She’d ended up going with a couple she trusted to the mansion of a wealthy and very dominant man named Randall.

He currently had two pets, both set up in apartments that he paid for.

At the party, he showed off their bodies and engaged in play, as did many people who attended.

There hadn’t been sex at the party. At least not openly.

There’d been bondage and nudity, and it was incredibly sexy.

The best part of Kate’s night had been a spanking by Randall.

There had been nothing tentative, nor anything frightening about it.

She’d been soundly spanked till tears stung her eyes and she had to rub her thighs together.

The experience left her sore and aroused. And desperate for more.

Being spanked by Randall had fueled her fantasies for days, so she’d met him for a drink. He explained in his rough English accent that he wasn’t looking for another pet, but he wanted her to join his club.

“A club full of strangers?” she’d asked hesitantly.

“Only strangers until you get to know them. There are good clubs and bad ones. Just like the people that join them. The key is a rigorous screening process, especially of the Dominants, and relentless adherence to the club rules. Let’s take the club I belong to.

There are background checks. There are interviews and a vote.

The vetting process for new Doms is thorough and takes months.

A hard limit has never been crossed in the club.

If that happened, the Dom would be more than expelled from the club.

He would have made enemies of people who are bad enemies to have. ”

“I understand,” she said, plucking at the hem of her dress. “But I enjoyed your party so much. With just a few people at a time. I think that’s the sort of environment where I can be comfortable.”

“That party was to allow me to meet you, love. I have a club, two pets, two ex-wives, and a business to run. I rarely throw parties.”

She bit her lip. She didn’t want to hear that it had been a one time thing. Her dark hair fell around her face as she tried to hide her disappointment.

“You could have so much more. You’re hesitant. That’s all right. Smart girls should be cautious, especially after being misused. But trust me, you should visit this club.”

“I’m not sure.”

“There’s no rush. It’ll happen when you’re ready. I’ll be out of the country for a week. When I’m home, we’ll have another talk about it. And if you’re a good girl and agree to visit the club, I’ll warm that backside for you as a reward.”

She flushed and looked up at him through her lashes.

“When will you be back?”

He’d laughed and patted her hand.

Kate had smiled, relaxing.

She’d met again with Randall, or Master Randall as he’d be called in the club, twice more in the following five weeks. On the third meeting, he’d told her the next time she called, she needed to be ready to accept an invitation to visit the Marquis Club.

It took just over a week for her to call him. He’d coached her on what to say in the call. No use of the club’s name or even the word club. She was only to say that she’d like to meet his colleagues. She’d mentioned which nights she was free to visit.

He’d called back and told her to be ready Thursday night and that a car would pick her up at seven o’clock. She was to wait for a call before coming down to the street.

“The campus is really safe, especially at seven. Other people will be coming and going from dinner. I don’t mind waiting outside. The weather’s been nice.”

“Female submissives don’t stand around alone on the street. On a night you’re coming to the club, you’re our responsibility. You’re extremely important to us, love, every one of you. You’ll be called when the car is there. Don’t come down before.”

That explanation had given her a little thrill. Though she understood from their conversations that she’d be giving up a lot of control while in the club, some of the rules persuaded her that the safety of the submissives was just as important to the club as the pleasure of the Dominants.

The black town car with its tinted windows arrived five minutes before seven and idled on the street. She received a text that simply said, Car’s arrived.

She made her way downstairs, her heart pounding. The driver who wore a black suit opened the back door for her. A very pretty girl with dark blond hair leaned forward and smiled. She wore a lime green satin bustier and skirt. Kate immediately felt underdressed in her pale yellow knit dress.

“Hi, I’m Nikki.”

“I wasn’t told what to wear. I could run up and change into something a little sexier if you don’t mind waiting.”

“I don’t mind waiting, but they do. Besides, you’re beautiful. They’ll love that dress, simple and sweet. It’s perfect. Come in,” she said with a wave of her hand.

Kate sat next to Nikki, and the driver closed the door.

“Getting picked up seems like a very formal process.”

“Yeah, but you’ll get used to it. And there are a lot of days when I’m running errands that I wish I had door-to-door service with a driver to carry my packages or to collect me with an open umbrella when there’s rain or sleet.”

“I can see how that would be nice.”

I wonder whether Master Randall explained about the blindfold?” Nikki asked, holding up a black eye mask.

“He did,” Kate said, clasping her hands. She closed her eyes and bent forward.

“I know it’s a little nerve-wracking, but better to be nervous tonight than on every other night you come to the club, thinking that someone will crash the place and take photos with a long lens of the people who come and go.

Not that it would be easy unless they tried to breach the walls, which wouldn’t work all that well. Security’s really great.

Kate nodded as the black silk-lined blindfold plunged her into darkness. “It’s scary, though, to go to an undisclosed location. If someone decided that they didn’t want to let you go, you’d be stuck,” she said.

Nikki touched her arm lightly and then slid a hand down to clasp Kate’s.

“No one will do anything to you that you don’t agree to try.

I’ve been a club sub for over a year. At the end of the night’s fun, everyone goes home.

It might be really late. I’ve gotten home just before sunrise a few times. But I’ve always outrun the sun.”

“Randall said I would be okay. I trust him.”

“Now that we’re headed to the club, practice calling him Master Randall, so you don’t slip while inside.”

“Would that lead to a punishment?”

“Not tonight, but remember that just like you’re trying to decide whether the club would suit you, the club’s trying to decide if you’d suit the club. Unless you’re a switch?”

“A switch?”

“So there are Dominants and submissives. And there are some people who are called switches because they switch roles.”

“I think I did read that somewhere. It didn’t really stick with me, since I’m not interested in that.”

“You might be one day. That’s the great thing about the club.

You’ll have a ton of opportunities to try a lot of different things.

It’s a Kinky ThemePark without the roller coasters.

Unless you consider mechanized spanking benches and other hydraulic-powered equipment roller coaster rides.

They can definitely provide an emotional ride,” Nikki said with a laugh.

Kate grinned. “I’m really glad they sent you. I’m so much less nervous now.”

“Hold on to that. You’ll be nervous again before the night’s over. I promise. But it won’t be terror, you know? It’s all about the thrill that comes from losing control and the adrenaline spike that comes from pain and stress. The release from that, it’s like nothing else.”

“I know,” Kate whispered.

Nikki squeezed her hand.

Rory doused himself with some water and toweled off. Doing role-play scenes under the lights was like being an actor, which was not his thing. He could’ve said no, of course, but you had to give the subs a little sugar now and then, and a lot of them loved role playing.

Rory tossed the pile of heavy costume clothes into a bin and pulled his leather pants back on.

“Shay,” Rory said.