Chapter 24 Josie
“You look stunning tonight. I love how that corset shows off your breasts. I got the measurements just right, didn’t I?” Ares slid his hands down her satin-covered bodice, sending a shiver down Josie’s spine.
She had on a jacket over her corset and skirt but still shivered, and it wasn’t because of the cold.
It was from anticipation. They had just pulled into the parking lot of Club Bandit, the gates black and iron just like the ones to the Montague mansion, but they felt friendlier somehow.
Maybe it was because of the line of cars ahead of them.
The ironic thing was, only two hours ago, in Cecilia’s condo, she had felt beautiful.
She loved how the skirt sat on her hips…
it was the shortest garment she had ever owned.
She loved how Maisy had lined her eyes with navy blue eyeliner.
Her curls stayed still because of the amount of product Cecilia had insisted on.
Her friends had told her she looked gorgeous, and she believed it because, after surveying herself in Cecilia’s long mirror, she felt beautiful. But now steps away from those black doors at the top of those stairs, her throat grew dry.
“What can I do to make you feel more comfortable?” Ares wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “If this is too much, we can go back to my place.”
“I want to play here tonight. It’s something I’ve never done and I want to scene with you,” she blushed as she said the words. “But I need my cane.”
Ares’s face relaxed, showing his dimples. “Is that all? For a moment there, I thought you were going to tell me you didn’t want to be here with me.”
Ares opened the door, grabbed her cane, and pressed it gently into her hand.
Ares thinking she didn’t want to go through those doors with him was so outlandish, she barked out a laugh.
“We all have our insecurities.” Ares dropped a kiss on her lips and took Josie’s free hand.
She didn’t feel very sexy with her cane, but after a week of long days; she needed it.
By the time Josie made it up those stairs and inside, she felt sapped of energy. Inside Club Bandit, they stood in line to be checked in. The woman in front of her wore an elf costume. Two men were in Santa hats.
The festive mood eased Josie’s nervousness and seeing her friend Ella lit her up.
“Josie, welcome!” Her friend Ella Riddell came around the desk and gave her a hug. “It’s so nice to see you come out to the party! And Ares, you look dashing as always, but I think I can make a suggestion.”
“Oh?” Ares asked, looking up from the form on an iPad he was filling out.
“You need a hat,” Ella reached into a basket by her side and plucked out a Santa Claus hat.
“Why not?” Ares took the hat and put it on, then handed the iPad back to the man behind the desk.
“Perfect”, Josie said
“Josie, that red suits your complexion so nicely. Ares was right about the sizes, but I see it’s a little big on the shoulders. I’m happy to alter it for you later.”
“I love it, Ella,” Josie said. She’d suspected the corset was one of Ella’s creations.
“And I love those powdery soft cookies Avery sent over! Have a good time, Josie. You look after her, Ares.”
“Of course,” Ares said. He took her hand in his and together they moved further into the club, toward the beat of the music.
“Changing rooms are down here. I’ll check our coats,” Ares said.
“I’ve been here for a class before. Never to a play party.”
“We’re going to have a good time.” The touch of his soft lips against hers filled her with heat. “Be back in a second.”
She stayed on the outside watching couples in Santa hats come in and a tall woman with sparkly red boots leading a man on a leash.
“Ready,” Ares offered her his arm. She took it and he led her into the main part of the club, where scenes were in progress around the room.
Josie tried to take it all in but everywhere she looked, people were laughing, chatting together, and along the perimeter of the room were the play stations. Those stations were crowded with groups of people watching scenes.
She saw a woman tied to a spiderweb made out of rope on a frame, two women flogging a man tied to a bondage table. By the wall, she caught sight of a woman tied to an X cross.
“Let’s get something to drink.”
She grabbed tightly to his hand, her head swimming with sensory overload.
A half-naked man in suspenders almost bumped into her, followed by a tall woman in a latex suit chasing him, brandishing a crop in the air.
Josie smiled so hugely her cheeks hurt. She loved being here in the throng of people. The soft moans echoing from all different areas of the club, mingling into the background noise.
At the bar, Ares asked for tonic water.
“Josie?”
She scanned the menu. “A blueberry mocktail please.”
“Coming right up,” the bartender said. To the left of the bar, a table was set up with food, including the pastries and cookies she had prepared.
“Anything catching your eye? We don’t have to play. We could watch.” Ares’s breath tickled her neck as he spoke against her ear.
The crowd vibrated with laughter, the hum of conversation buzzed, but all Josie cared about was how good Ares felt behind her, like he was shielding her from the room’s noise.
She sipped her drink, set it down, then met his green eyes. “I want to dive right in before I lose my nerve. Can we move from here?”
“They have private rooms we could go to.” Ares took her arm. They stopped by the stage.
A short man with a shaved head dressed in a Santa suit on stage, doing something to a woman who was tied up involving glass cups.
Josie sipped her drink, watching the crowd, seeing how everyone was happy.
It gave her a thrill to be there.
Nobody was paying attention to her. Nobody cared about her cane.
“I want to play out here.” she squeezed Ares’s hand.
“Let’s do that. Do you know what you’d like? We could do more rope or I have lots of other sensory tools in my bag.”
“I want to do something I’ve never done before,” Josie said, then she blushed. The words seemed so immature to her.
In the crowd, she caught sight of Cecilia, locking lips with Layla on the sofa in the corner. She tried to channel some of Cecilia’s confidence.
“What about wax play?” Ares massaged her shoulders. She could stay here all night, watching the scene onstage, letting this man ease her aches.
“Does dripping wax hurt?”
“Everyone’s body is different. I have candles that are specially made for wax play in my kit.
They burn at lower temperatures than your regular every day candles.
The higher I hold the candle, the more time the wax has to cool off before making contact with your skin.
If you want to try it, we’ll go slow. If you are uncomfortable, we’ll end the scene.
” Ares cupped his palm against her cheek. “What do you think?”
Josie swallowed. Her heart pounded against her chest. “I think I want to be covered in hot wax.”
Ares chuckled; the heat of his breath sent shivers down her spine. “How do you want to feel?”
A half-naked woman with tinsel in her hair bumped past Josie. Two men, one wearing a reindeer hat, grabbed the woman lifting her up off her feet.
“Naughty elf, you can’t get away from us!”
“Help! I’ve been captured by the reindeer!” the woman said, laughing.
“We’re going to take this naughty elf to the dungeon!” The reindeer man closest to Josie leaned in, as if he was sharing a secret. “Do you want to watch?”
Her face heated. “Maybe,” she stared at her shoes.
“I need to make my girl into an ornament first,” Ares pulled her close to him, kissing the shell of her ear.
“Have fun!” The reindeer-wearing men winked.
Josie placed a palm on Ares’s chest, meeting his heated gaze. “I want to feel like I’m someone who goes to play parties. Like I’m someone who is sexy enough, attractive enough to be played with.”
He wrapped her in his arms, bringing her to his chest. “Did I mention how sexy you look in that little skirt and corset? From the moment I saw you tonight, I’ve been hard for you. I don’t know if I can get through this scene without coming in my pants.”
“Ares—”
“It’s true. I can’t wait to give you another new experience.” He let go of her but kept his hand on the small of her back, guiding her to a station that had a medical table and a rolling stool.
A woman with a tattoo of a butterfly on her back wiped down the table. “There you go. Have a good scene!”
“Thanks,” Josie muttered.
Ares chuckled, set his bag on the table, and cocked an eyebrow at her. “Someone who goes to play parties might be used to having their scene watched. How do you feel about people watching?”
Her mouth went bone dry, but between her legs, she was dripping wet.
The hum of the club vibrated. The laughter and the occasional soft moan filled the air, and she wanted to be part of it. Josie wanted to soak all of this in and settle in the feeling.
A kink club is not a place she thought she’d ever be.
“Yes, I’m okay with that.”
Ares’s smile made her glow. He gestured to someone and, turning her head, Josie saw it was a woman wearing a black armband. He whispered something to her, and she nodded.
He rolled the stool toward her. “You sit there and look pretty while I set up the space.”
“I get to watch you work?” Josie sat on the stool, leaning her cane against the wall.
He crocked an eyebrow as he opened his bag, his lips twitching.
“Do I detect unspoken words there? Like, ‘for a change’?”
Josie stretched her arms above her head, trying to appear casual.
“I didn’t say it.”
“Brat. I’ll forgive you if you keep your arms like that. It’s a very pleasing aesthetic.”
Josie blushed, but the way Ares looked at her made her want to stay in that pose. She felt so comfortable with him that she forgot to hide how her body moves.
Even in the middle of this crowded club, she could be herself with him.
Ares pulled out a folded canvas sheet and spread it on the table.
Josie spun on the stool, watching the crowd mingle and laugh.
“All set.”