No Accounting for Love [Club Libertine 3] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic) Read online

  The last few weeks had been especially bad. They were short staffed, and he’d had to spend a lot of time behind the bar after firing the last bartender who just couldn’t seem to understand that while the club offered booze, they also very carefully monitored the members’ intakes. The last thing they wanted was someone to do something under the influence that they would regret in the morning.

  And the twins were no help on the management side. Connor and Liam were great out on the floor, dealing with the club members, orientation, managing the scenes, running the training classes, and just generally schmoozing and keeping the members happy, but they were allergic to paperwork, it seemed. Their younger brother Zack tried to help, but at this stage in his own BDSM education, sometimes he was more hindrance than help. But he didn’t fault them. It was important to have a strong presence on the floor to make sure that things were running smoothly and no one was getting too carried away and all safe words were being respected.

  And Jake had a full-time job in addition to his Dungeon Master duties, duties which he’d been neglecting lately now that he’d found a sub that he seemed to be pretty serious about. Which also meant that he wasn’t participating in scenes, which disappointed many clients. Duncan sighed. He didn’t expect Jake would want to “fully” service other Doms’ subs any more, but hopefully he could see his way through to administering punishments again to naughty subs. The Doms loved having him do this because of his skill with the whip, and the subs loved him for the same reason. No one had his technique.

  But now Mac had sent him Andie to help out. He smiled at her standing there waiting. He was careful to make his smile nonthreatening, but he was already assessing her reaction. He could see she was trying to be bold, but even at this first meeting when she thought he was the delivery guy and not her new business partner for lack of a better term, she was hesitant, she was standing there, waiting for him to make a move. He wondered if she was just exceptionally nervous and he was overthinking things, or maybe she was showing some submissive tendencies. He was having to tread carefully, but he was definitely going to throw out a few tests. No harm in being prepared. He’d be 100 percent professional, well, more or less, while she was organizing the club, but as soon as that was done, he was going to make his move.

  He watched her watching him, searching for a cue. Oh, yes. She definitely had some submissive tendencies. He wondered if Mac knew this before he chose her for this job.

  He held out his hand and waited, looking directly into her. Tentatively, she put her small hand in his. He schooled his face into a professional expression, but inside he was smiling broadly. First test passed.

  Chapter Three

  He let go of her hand and reached toward her. She jumped and then stepped back. He smiled as he reached past her to place his security card in front of the scanner. The access system beeped, and the red light turned green.

  “Can you hold the door for me?” he asked.

  Startled, Andie rushed to pull the door open and hold it so he could wheel the hand cart of water in the side. She followed him in and let the door close behind her. She watched him wheel the water to another door that seemed to lead to a storage area. The door opened in, so he was able to push the door open with his back and then disappear through the door with his load, leaving her standing alone in the office area.

  She took the opportunity to look around. It wasn’t a big area. There were three desks, two of which were covered with heaps of paper. There was also a small hallway and seemed to lead to several offices. Another hallway led to some more doors. More offices?

  Even though this area would not be seen by members, she could see that some thought and money had gone into making it comfortable and pleasant for the staff, while not being extravagant. She could work here.

  She sat down at the desk with no papers and unpacked her briefcase. Briefly, she wondered where everyone else was. Surely there would be more people here than just her and the hot delivery guy. But then she got caught up in reading the information in the file that she’d received by messenger this morning just before she left the house, so she hadn’t had time to more than briefly glance at it before.

  She was so engrossed in her reading that she didn’t notice the delivery guy returning until he was standing in front of her. And judging by his amused expression, he’d been standing there for a while.

  “Sorry, I can’t sign for the delivery. I’m new here.”

  “I’m Duncan Rider. You must be Andie.” He smiled as he looked her up and down. From the angle, with him standing over her, she felt like he was looking straight down at her breasts, which was silly. They were completely covered, and the suit was very professional.

  Holy crap. The hot delivery guy was the general manager of the club? Uh-oh. No more fantasizing. They were going to be working closely together for weeks. Or even months, if she decided to stay on during the expansion. She could not lust after her coworker. She could not. But she suddenly felt like the neck of her shirt was too tight, and her nipples had hardened uncomfortably. She quickly pulled her jacket closed so he wouldn’t notice, but from the way his eyes narrowed, she knew he had and didn’t like that she’d covered herself. She had a strange desire to open her jacket back up, so he could see her tight nipples poking through the material of her top.

  I’ve gone nuts, she thought. I just met this guy. I must have gone so long without sex that I’m hallucinating or something.

  She plastered what she hoped was a professional-looking smile on her face and stood up. “Hey, Duncan. Yes, I’m Andie, and I’m here to do whatever I can to help you get things under control.”

  “I’m a Dom, honey, so control is my specialty.” She felt color rising in her cheeks and it got brighter when she saw from his cheeky grin that he realized she was embarrassed and was enjoying it… “But in this case”—he gestured to the two desks piled high with paper and sighed—“I’m the one who clearly needs to be taken in hand.

  “Now, why don’t I give you the grand tour while it’s just the two of us here? Once the members start arriving, it won’t be possible, at least not the same way. Certainly, as staff, you can be out on the floor, but I wouldn’t be able to devote myself 100 percent to looking after you.

  “This way.” He placed one large hand on her arm and urged her forward. “Now down to that side are the staff areas. There are male and female locker rooms, washroom, showers, et cetera. On this side are the offices. They also open out to the club side. These are where we interview members.

  “The room where I took the water was, of course, the storage area. Oh, and there’s one last room, down just past the storage area. That’s the security room. We have our computer servers in there. We also have our monitors. We have cameras everywhere so we can monitor all the private areas since we can’t have staff interrupt a private scene, but we are still responsible to make sure that everyone is safe. We don’t watch everything, just check the rooms on a rotating basis. We do tape, in case we need a record of what happened if there were an accident or something. But unless we specifically save a recording, they are automatically erased after twenty-four hours. Any questions so far?”

  “Scene?”

  “That’s a term in the BDSM lifestyle. Probably used by other lifestyles. In our context, it references a set of criteria that the participants have agreed to. We are always advised in advance as to the details of any public scenes, but private scenes we just monitor discreetly.”

  “What sort of criteria?”

  “How many participants. Will there be bondage, sex toys. What implements will be used in punishment. What equipment will they require. We have all the usual pieces such as spanking benches, St. Andrew’s crosses, and medical exam tables, by the way. We also request the safe words the sub or subs have, so we can enforce them if there is any confusion. And, finally, we want to know which of the participants will be having sex with each other as a part of the scene, again, so no one’s boundaries are violated by one or more parti
cipants getting caught up in the moment and getting a little overly enthusiastic.”

  Andie felt her face turn bright red. She blushed easily and she saw the amusement on Duncan’s face. She realized that he was deliberately embarrassing her and was enjoying response which made her blush harder.

  “Now if you come this way, I’ll take out you through the public reception area and to the main floor.”

  They went out through one of the offices. Andie braced herself. What would a BDSM club look like? To her surprise, it looked like the entrance to any swanky, exclusive club. The reception area off the main bank of elevators was extremely expensive-looking. There was a main reception desk and then the main club access, which also had electronic security.

  Duncan pointed out the discreetly located security cameras as he ushered her through the main doors. The main area looked huge. There was the bar off to one side. It covered most of one wall, but there didn’t seem to be much booze on display. She remembered Duncan’s comment about making sure that no one overimbibed. If this was a regular club, she’d be thinking up ways to increase the booze revenues, but Duncan was right. Member safety was primary. And it made her feel good that club management took that attitude.

  She could see that there was also a small area with scatted tables for informal dining.

  “Mostly snacks and finger foods,” said Duncan, reading her mind. “No want wants a heavy meal before a scene, and often, afterward, the sub is exhausted and they head back to one of the private rooms off the locker area to provide aftercare and then head home. None of the participants stick around after a scene.”

  “Do people ever come just to mix and mingle, or is it all about the, er, scenes?” she asked.

  “Good question. You can see over to the right that small lounge type area. That’s for the uncollared subs. That is, subs with no Master or Dom. They come and wait there, hoping to be picked by a Master for a scene.”

  “Do they mingle much?”

  “Nope. Not at all. They are subs. They aren’t allowed to go anywhere without a Dom. Even if all they want is to go to the washroom, they have to call an attendant who will escort them to the facilities.”

  “Seriously? They can’t just walk around and enjoy the scenes?”

  “You have to understand the lifestyle. People who come here are either Doms, Dommes, or subs. Doms are in charge. They can go where they want and do what they want. If they bring a sub, the sub says with them. They keep their eyes down and only speak when spoken to and only with the permission of their Dom. They may not even be allowed to sit on the couch with their Dom.” He indicated another lounge area with some comfortable-looking couches and a number of pillows scattered on the floor. “They may have to sit at their feet, or they may get to sit on their laps.”

  “Seriously? Sounds more like slaves to me.”

  He chuckled. “Never say that out loud when there are members here. Subs and slaves are different things and mean something different to different people. Slaves tend to live the lifestyle 24/7, being subservient twenty-four hours a day.

  “Subs may just assume the role at playtime or as a part of sexual activities, and the rest of the time, they are complete equals. The line is drawn differently by each pairing or ménage.”

  “I know I’m going to regret asking this, but ménage?”

  “When there are three or more people in the relationship. And before you ask, usually there is one primary Dom. The other two may be equal subs or maybe one of the subs also gets to top the other. And before you ask, a ménage, at least at this club, is usually two or more men and a woman. Usually the men are not sexually involved with each other, only the woman, although that type of ménage is not uncommon.”

  “I see. I think I need to do some serious reading on the subject. But I just got the job offer this morning, and the file was delivered after lunch, so I barely had time to glance over it before coming over here. And”—she sighed—“I think one part of me hoped I could trust treat this as a regular business and kind of ignore what the actual business was. But that’s really not professional. I can do the most for the company if I understand the business.”

  “No worries. I enjoy teaching. In fact…” His face took on that wicked grin, and she just knew he was about to say something that would embarrass her. “In fact, if you would like a few lessons in the art of submission, I’d be happy to be your teacher.

  “Something to think about, you really should check out this place when it is full, but you also want to blend in and not walk around with your tablet making notes. It might make people uncomfortable. Also, it has a camera, and no picture taking is allowed.

  “I’ll find you a nice leather corset that will let you blend in but isn’t too revealing. And you can wear my training collar, and I’d bring you into the club when it’s busy so you can check out the lifestyle firsthand. Best way to understand the business, especially if you plan to be a part of the expansion. Think about it.” Then he moved on to the next area in the main space, leaving Andie to trail after him, her jaw hanging open as she took in what he said.

  Andie had to bite her tongue to prevent herself from asking about a training collar. She’d look it up on the Internet. She could see him laughing at her. Yeah, yeah. He was flirting with her now, but if only he knew her better. Her ex would be happy to tell him all about her inadequacies in the sack. There was no way she’d be able to satisfy a man like him. He was so virile, and he said he was a Dom. She figured flirting was second nature to him. He worked basically as a host at a club, and part of his role was to make people feel comfortable. Flirting must be automatic. She’d have to stop responding, and maybe he’d give it up. She’d put their relationship back on a strictly professional level. She’d stop looking at his ass, and she’d stop imagining his mouth on hers and his hands on her body. She gave herself a mental shake. If she couldn’t do this, then how the hell could she work side by side with him for weeks or even months?

  Breathe. She was working herself up to a panic attack. Breathe deeply. Relax. The man is just giving you a tour of the business you’ll be working in. He wasn’t really saying he wanted to put a collar around your neck and have sex with you. He was teasing you. He is not thinking about throwing you down on one of those couches and ripping your clothes off. He’s not expecting you to kneel at his feet so you can suck his cock while his friends watch. She felt a zap of desire straight in her pussy. And a bigger lump of fear in her stomach. She’d never felt this sort of instant attraction to someone. How was she supposed to work with him?

  She would not think about being his sub. She would not think about wearing a leather corset and a collar and kneeling at his feet. He was being kind, offering to show her around. He was not offering to fuck her brains out. Get your mind out of the gutter. He is your coworker, and this is a sex club, so he’s offering you a way to see what’s going on, even experience a bit of it so you can do a good job, not because he’s attracted to you. You are a nothing. A mousy accountant. He’s a hot Dom. He can have his pick of women. He’s just teasing you. And you creaming your panties. Stop it. Stop it.

  She took another deep breath. Control. Self-control. That’s how. This was an amazing step forward in her career. And she was a professional. She could work with an attractive man without spending all of her time thinking about jumping his bones or fantasizing about him jumping her bones. She could do this. She would do this. She used her most professional voice.

  “So, I’m assuming that’s the main stage area. And I can see three smaller ‘display’ areas. How many private rooms do you have?”

  Chapter Four

  The rest of the tour went by in a whirlwind. Duncan could see that something had changed and Andie was no longer letting herself respond to his mild flirting. She was trying to put things back on a strictly professional level, and he wasn’t sure what it was that changed her attitude. He decided to change tactics. He restricted his words to neutral, businesslike terms and discussion with no more teas
ing or innuendos. No offers to train her. But he very carefully made sure that he touched her whenever he could without being creepy or intrusive about it. He touched her arm when he opened the door. He put his hand gently on her back when he guided her along a hallway, and he held her chair out when they sat, lightly brushing her shoulders when he pushed the chair in.

  He took it as a good sign when she didn’t push his hands away. She’d originally held herself very stiffly, but gradually, when he kept his touches light and nonsexual, she relaxed. But he was also careful not to overdo it. Besides the fact that he didn’t want to scare her off since she clearly had some intimacy issues, they were also going to be working together and he didn’t want to make her feel uncomfortable being around him. No, he admitted ruefully to himself, what he wanted was to get her used to having him touch her and to miss it when he didn’t, so his touches were never even the slightest bit sexual or suggestive in nature. For now.

  She showed some distinctly sub tendencies, in his opinion. She liked it when he took charge. When they talked about the accounting or the billings or scheduling the cleaning staff, she was very professional and wasn’t afraid to disagree with him. In fact, she’d already come up with several good suggestions he intended to implement as soon as possible. But she deferred to him on almost everything else.

  And she blushed like a virgin when he described the various pieces of equipment and how they were used. He was careful to keep his voice entirely professional when he discussed the merits of the various types of paddles they had when she asked why they needed so many different types. And when he was been going over the various types of restraints and their usage, he’d even managed to convince her that she should let him demonstrate the differences by attaching them to her wrists. Or rather wrist. She let him attach each of the cuffs to her left wrist. From the narrow police-like handcuff to the plush, wide leather cuff with the thick padding, she let him attach each of them to her wrist. She tugged and twisted her arm and then made notes on her tablet with her right hand.