Chapter 35 Four
Four
Emma blinked and stared at her phone. Kate had just called. The club was sending a car for her. She should be ready to come down when it arrived.
Emma stared at her reflection. She wore a white print dress. The print pattern had three lush roses in full bloom; she felt a little like a walking Georgia O’Keefe painting.
She’d curled her hair in soft ringlets, put on fresh makeup including a bold reddish-pink lipstick, and slid her feet into peep-toe high heels. She wondered if she’d be standing for long periods of time. That wouldn’t be comfortable. But it was important to her to make a good first impression.
She’d thought about wearing black, but everything she tried on made her feel like she was going to a funeral.
Perhaps her own. She needed a little black cocktail dress that was sexy.
Of course, maybe everyone in the club would be wearing rubber and studded dog collars, so that no dress would remotely fit in.
She’d asked Kate about appropriate attire, and she’d been told not to worry. “Anything you wear will be fine.”
Emma had groused a little in her head. Would a Christmas sweater with a reindeer printed on it be fine? Would a Hawaiian shirt and khaki shorts be fine? Of course not. These men, as she imagined them, would expect her to at least try to look pretty for them, wouldn’t they?
The phone rang.
“Hi, it’s Kate. Come down.”
“Already?” she squeaked.
“Yes. Come right down.”
Emma checked herself one last time, wrapped an oversized white cashmere scarf around her shoulders and grabbed her purse, hurrying out.
Downstairs, when she stepped outside, Kate smiled. “You look beautiful.”
“Do I? Do I look okay? I know it’s more of a daytime dress, but nothing I own looks as good on me.”
“Let’s go,” Kate said, looping an arm through Emma’s. The little gesture made Emma feel even more buoyant than she already did.
At the end of the walkway, a man in a black suit stood next to a black limo with tinted windows.
“Where are Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones?” Emma asked.
Kate laughed. “I know. It’s a little… Well, it just is.”
The driver opened the door, and the girls climbed in. The door closed with a soft whoosh.
“Okay, so you see that it’s just the pair of us here, right?” Kate asked.
“Yes, why?”
“Because I have to turn off your phone and put a blindfold on you.”
“What?” Emma cried.
“If you join, you’ll get to know the Bat Cave’s secret location, but until then, it’s a blindfold, or I can’t take you.”
“You’ll smudge me,” Emma said, pouting.
Kate laughed. “You can touch up when we arrive.” She held up a square of black satin.
“Well, I guess we’re getting right into the spirit of things,” Emma said, sitting forward so Kate could cover her eyes.
“I have to do a good job. They’ve never let me pick anyone up before. It’s a big vote of confidence.”
The satin was silky against her face. Kate tied it firmly, plunging Emma into full darkness.
“That’s a little disconcerting.”
“Just sit back and relax and keep talking. I’m right next to you,” Kate said, giving Emma’s hand a squeeze. “Let me turn off your phone, and we’ll be all set.”
The phone chimed a jaunty tune as it powered down. “Okay, it’s back in your purse. Cute shoes by the way. There’s a Domme with a foot fetish who would be very tantalized by those peeping toes.”
Foot fetish, wow. Despite her shoes, Emma didn’t think she’d be very compatible with someone with that fetish.
“Does he just like feet? Or does the rest of the body hold a passing interest, too?” Emma asked, the corners of her mouth quirking up.
Kate laughed again. “Actually the Domme’s a she, and you shouldn’t dis her fetishes.”
“A dominatrix. Is she cool?”
“Yes, actually. She doesn’t come to the club much, but it’s so interesting when she does. Guy subs always intrigue me.”
They talked throughout the entire drive, and it wasn’t until Kate slipped the blindfold off that Emma felt nervous again.
“Your eyes are good. No smudges,” Kate announced after inspecting them. Kate slid her finger over a touch screen to make a call. After a moment, someone answered.
“Hello, it’s Kate. We’re here.”
The driver opened the door and held it for them. Kate ended the call, and they slid out.
Emma stared up at the enormous iron gates that blocked a paved drive that led to—well, Emma couldn’t tell where it led to. It was too dark.
The limo driver waited until a Town Car pulled up on the other side. A man who was well over six feet climbed out. He clicked a button, and the gates slid open.
Emma’s heels crunched over the gravel until she reached a smooth stone drive. The man from the car nodded at the limo driver who got in the car and drove away. Delivered from one car to another. How much farther was the club?
“Master J, this is Emma.”
“Hello, Emma. We’re glad you could join us tonight.”
Emma reached a hand from under the scarf she was holding tight around her torso. He took the offered hand and flipped it over. Warm lips kissed the inside of her wrist and sent shivers through her.
“Thank you for inviting me.”
“You’re very welcome.”
He opened the back door, and Kate joined her in the back seat. Apparently, they were being chauffeured again. Some old Rock & Roll thrummed from the sound system.
The drive was roughly half a mile long. Master J left the motor running, but got out to hold the back door for them.
“Master Shay’s finishing a scene, and then he’ll be out to get her. Nothing alcoholic until he’s interviewed her.”
“Yes, Sir,” Kate said.
Master J walked back to the driver’s door.
“Master J?” Kate asked.
“Yes?”
“Did you notice if Rory is here?”
“Who, sub?” Master J asked with a cocked brow.
“Sorry. Did you notice if Master Rory is here yet?”
“He’s here, and he’s been busy.”
“Oh?”
“Watching the clock.”
“Oh,” Kate said with a wince.
Master J flashed her a smile. “For your sake, I hope you’ve got something good on under those jeans.”
It had been too dark to get a good look at Master J, but he appeared tan and rugged as he got into the Town Car.
“What was that about?” Emma asked as they approached the front door.
“I missed a scene I was scheduled to do. I belong to Master Rory, but he wasn’t here when I left. I hoped he’d be so late that I’d be back before he missed me.”
Kate belonged to him? So that was the His of “His kitten.”
The building was two stories tall and rectangular. From the outside it looked like a warehouse. Emma fidgeted as Kate keyed in a code.
“The schedule seems complicated,” Emma said.
“No, it’s fine. I really wanted to come and get you myself. I couldn’t reach Sir on his cell to ask permission, so I decided to just go and hope for the best.”
She swung the door open, and Emma blinked.
Inside, there was no warehouse or dungeon vibe.
The front desk, a granite-topped counter, looked like it belonged at a spa or luxury hotel.
There were potted palms, a babbling fountain, and framed photographs of black stones and strangely sensual desert sands.
Standing behind the desk was a girl dressed in a pink patent leather bra and matching skirt and white knee-high boots. Her blondish brown hair was shorn to a pixie cut that swept across her forehead. She belonged in a retro magazine layout.
“Nikki, this is Emma. Can I leave her with you for a few minutes? I need to check in with Master Rory.”
Nikki winked at Kate. “Course you can.”
“You’re leaving?” Emma whispered.
“Just for a few minutes.” Kate pulled her shirt over her head revealing a silver mesh bikini top.
Her heavy breasts strained the material, and taupe nipples poked through open spaces in the mesh.
Kate shoved down her jeans, and Emma’s brows shot up.
The silver mesh bikini bottom revealed as much as it covered.
Kate’s shaved pubic area was clearly visible.
Kate set her clothes on the counter. “Nik?”
“Yeah, of course,” Nikki said, taking them and storing them beneath the counter.
“Thanks a million.” Kate finger-combed her hair, adjusted her bikini straps and turned. Glancing at Emma, she leaned forward and fluffed Emma’s curls. “Give Nikki your scarf to hang. I’ll be back when I can.”
There was a wood screen near the fountain that hid the club from the entryway, and Kate disappeared behind it.
“Wow, so is everyone in their underwear back there?”
“Not everyone.” Nikki offered her a sly smile. “Here.” She held out a hand for Emma’s scarf.
“No, I’ll keep it for now.”
“You really shouldn’t.”
“Yes, I really should,” Emma said softly.
A man strode around the screen, and Emma’s jaw dropped.
He had sweat-dampened shoulder-length brown hair, a beautiful face and a five o’clock shadow that made him look like a fallen angel who’d ridden a Harley out of Hell.
Bare-chested, his muscles flexed like he’d been photo-shopped to star in an action movie.
His belt buckle had a black and silver Celtic symbol which directed her gaze to the leather pants covering his crotch.
When she realized where she was looking, she jerked her head up. His faintly amused expression made her blush.
“Hello, Emma, welcome to the Marquis Club. I’m Master Shay. You’ll call me that or Sir.”
She stared up at him, and he smiled at her slightly startled look.
“Come. We’re going this way,” he said with a wag of his finger. He crossed in front of the desk and headed down a hall on the other side, away from the direction Kate had gone.
Emma’s shoes clicked over the floor as she hurried to keep up. She was breathless by the time he reached a door and opened it. He held it, so she could precede him inside. Apparently the modern Dom was very well-mannered.
She stepped inside, and lights on a dimmer switch were raised until soft light filled the room. She glanced at the modern modular couch. It had a highly polished steel frame, and square cushions in forest green leather. The office’s desk was razor sleek and so were the shelves and filing cabinet.