Chapter 1 #2
Sophie leaned in and plucked a numbered black chip from the pile. She looked at Claudia and Violet. “I don’t know how to play poker.”
“Oh no. This is the fun part tonight. If you don’t have someone in mind or want to spin a game of chance, you’ll be paired up and see where the chemistry takes you. It’s how I met Brandon last year.”
Claudia’s on-again, off-again boyfriend, Brandon, was as hot as he was a hot mess. The two of them hadn’t been able to find a way forward as of late.
“I’m not sure that’s as promising as you think it is.”
Aiden
Aiden Mackay parked his sports car in the underground parking at Surrender, bypassing the VIP entrance.
He had every right to use it, but it wasn’t in his nature to flaunt or abuse his status, even as a part-owner.
Aiden scanned his ID card and headed up to the business suite. He knew his best friend and business partner, Zack, would be hiding away as the club filled for the evening.
He pushed open the door and was met with the distinct smell of cigars and sex.
Zack was sitting in a side chair, his nose buried in a book, a tumbler of liquor in his other hand.
What caught Aiden's attention was the submissive, gagged, and bound woman beneath Zack's feet, who remained still at Aiden's arrival.
Her eyes were closed, and streaks of makeup from crying stained her cheeks. Aiden recognized the sub as one from the Dollhouse. Her blonde hair was pulled back into a high ponytail, and she was naked to reveal the welts that darkened her pale skin across her thighs and buttocks.
The Dollhouse was a newer venture they started over a year ago, where uncollared submissives could choose to be a ‘doll’ for the night.
It was mostly used by those with darker urges who preferred to remain unattached.
Zack's dark eyes glanced toward Aiden, and he tipped his glass in acknowledgment of his arrival.
Shrugging off his jacket, Aiden fixed his collared shirt. “Are you coming down to the pit tonight? The last party was six weeks ago. You know subs will line up…”
Zack grunted and recrossed his ankles. Resting them on the submissive's back. “I'm fine.”
“No, you aren't. You've been more closed off and broody lately, so I took matters into my own hands, brother.” They started as friends and became family over the past two and a half decades since their first meeting in college.
Closing his book, Zack fixed Aiden with a hard stare. “What did you do?”
“We haven’t had quality control in a while, so we’re testing out the lottery.”
“Please tell me I heard you wrong. Why?” Zack placed his feet on the floor and reached down to unbuckle the gagged submissive. Grabbing her chin, he pulled her closer and kissed her forehead in dismissal. “Go.”
She unfolded herself gracefully and grabbed her robe from a corner chair, making a quiet exit.
Zack stood and buttoned his jacket. He walked over toward the bar table in the far corner. “Why did you throw us in without telling me?”
“Because it’s time to shit or get off the pot.”
“Eloquent. Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?”
“No, only yours.” He grinned. “Lots of tongue.”
“Why are we still friends?”
“Because I have a great office with imported scotch.”
“Touche.” He took the glass from Zack. “Why do we have to participate in this?” He wasn’t looking for a new submissive. Neither of them was.
Happy and content to play with minimal notice with Cora when the time worked for the three of them. The first rule of their agreement was that there would be no attachments.
Content to play together and apart was part of the dynamic.
Jealousy wasn’t something either of them had with each other.
Aiden was content to focus more on the submissive and their emotional well-being in the scene.
Zack was hard, unyielding, and his presence in a scene could bring any sub to their knees.
A feeling Aiden wasn’t immune to.
“Because it’s nice to see what we’ve built from outside the bored room.”
“Punny. Very punny. You’re a jackass.”
“I’m your jackass. Now fix that tie and head down with me.”
“You’re a closet bully, you know.”
“I think you mean enabler.”
*
Scanning the club floor, Aiden noticed a mix of long-time members and new faces. He nodded and leaned against the corner wall. He nudged Zack with his shoulder.
“It seems like the new passes are working. A few members we haven’t seen in a while.”
“Is that your way of gloating?”
“I am wounded that you would think that of me.” Aiden laughed. “I’m just glad the numbers worked out in our favor.”
“Listen, we aren’t partners for your good looks, brother.” Zack’s mood seemed to be improving. “Can we not be busybodies tonight? Is that too much to ask?”
Aiden nodded halfheartedly, his attention caught by the raven beauty across the bar.
She was huddled in a corner with Claudia and Violet, two submissives who worked their membership dues in the club shop and helped other Surrender Masters.
His lip curved, remembering how her lips tasted that night. Sweet, with a hint of sin he’d been craving since that day. The way she gracefully sipped her martini left a familiar impression.
“Hey, isn’t that the woman we met at that party some months back?” Zack looked over his whiskey glass.
“Oh, I do believe so…”
“Never thought we would see that feisty little minx after she ghosted me with a wrong number,” he mused, straightening his jacket with a smirk.
“The night just turned interesting.”
Sophie
“I’m telling you, Soph, if this place had apartments, I’d live here.” Claudia’s bubbly personality was infectious, and Sophie found herself relaxing and enjoying their surroundings.
The girls found themselves against a bartop table tucked in a quiet corner. The soft hum of conversation and the heavy scent of leather filled the space. A few pairings could be spotted throughout the club, coupled up in various states of undress.
“I don’t think your dominant would appreciate that. You’re already here for work and play. Didn’t you take an extra shift in the club store last week?” Sophie narrowed her eyes. “Are you avoiding Brandon?”
Claudia waved her hand dismissively. “Oh, hush, it’s not about me tonight.” Something was definitely going on between the two of them.
“So, have you heard from Ella Bella this week?” Sophie looked down at her friend, surprised she remembered her newest client. Ella, the new sole owner of Bella’s Gourmet Goods, looked to Sophie to clean up the behind-the-scenes operations and implement a new system.
“Yes, we are meeting next week about restructuring her business since she expanded and bought her partner out.”
“I love that!”
“Me too, I’m excited to–” Sophie’s words stopped, a pair of intense hazel eyes bore into hers. She nudged Claudia’s shoulder. “Hey, do you know who that is?”
Claudia set down her drink and followed Sophie’s line of sight. “Oh! That’s Aiden. He owns the club. You met him last year, remember?”
“No…”
“Yes. The charity event I dragged you to because Brandon had to work.”
“Oh god, that was him? I–fuck.” Sophie’s memory clicked into place, and her cheeks reddened.
“What’s wrong?”
“Claudia!”
“Still my name!”
“Don’t you remember what happened that night?!” Sophie squeaked, grabbing Claudia’s arm. She bugged her eyes, staring at Claudia until her memory caught up.
Her eyes rounded with recognition. “Oh. My. God. That was the guy you made out with?!”
“Yes,” she gulped. “I panicked and gave him the wrong number.” Sophie's throat went dry as he stalked straight to them, his eyes bored into hers.
He wore a dark linen button-up with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, showing off the Celtic knots she'd noticed the first time they met.
“Sophie, right?”
She nodded mutely.
“Well, hello there. I didn't think I'd see you again.”
“Hi. You’re here?”
“Yes, I am, I am a part owner.” He turned to Claudia. “I didn't know you two knew each other…”
“So of all the clubs, she walks into yours!” The whole table could hear Claudia’s harsh whisper. Sophie wished the floor would open up and swallow her whole.
“I see you’re playing the play party roulette.” Aiden nodded at the chip next to her drink.
“Yes she was!” Claudia nudged her elbow. “I was telling her how the club was expanding!”
“Lidia talked me into it,” she confessed.
“Meant to be?” Aiden met her eyes in silent challenge.
Sophie bit her lip, nodding in silence. His presence hasn’t changed since that night. She felt the familiar zing of excitement she’d experienced that night many months ago.
It was the martini, it had to be. Sophie wasn’t this careless and unguarded otherwise. It was the same thing that happened the night they met.
“I wouldn’t want to change your plans.”
“I’ll take it!” Claudia plucked it from the bartop before she could argue. “She obviously has someone to play with, so she doesn’t need it!”
Sophie was going to kill her. They were best friends for over a decade and a half, but at this moment, she wanted to run her over and then cry at her funeral.
To further add to her humiliation, the strong-jawed man that Aiden was with before he came over had joined their gathering.
“This is my business partner and co-owner, Zack.”
“Hello. I had to come see who had my business partner so enamored that we missed our conversation with Jenkin’s that night.”
“I apologized and fixed it, remember? I was otherwise occupied.” Aiden’s eyes darkened. “There were more pressing matters.”
Sophie remembered the smell of his cologne mixed with her perfume when he pinned her in the dark corner, and they kissed like teenagers.
Aiden glanced over Sophie’s head and smirked. “Seems as though Claudia left you in our care, Sophie.”
She looked over her shoulder and sighed at Claudia’s abandonment.
“Come with us, we will give you the tour if she hasn’t already.” Sophie took Aiden’s extended hand, leaving her drink behind as he led her away.
The three of them headed to the lower staircase, toward the upper walkway that circled over the play pit.