Page 10 of Worth the Risk

Hannah patted her arm. “You look a little pale, Bella. Are you feeling all right?”

“She’s freaked out,” her husband declared in the understatement of the century. “I can’t imagine what Sean and Anne were thinking not explaining what she was getting herself into. In fact, I’m going to go ask him. He’s usually in his office this time of day.”

That snapped Bella out of her stupor. “Please, don’t do that. I need this job. Ms. Thompson warned me I might see a lot of skin and other surprising things; I just didn’t expect—”

“Blatant sex and kink?” Hannah supplied.

“Well, yes. But if I can get used to taking drink orders from men getting lap dances, I’m sure I can adjust to this. I’ll do some reading up on, uh...”

“BDSM,” the pretty blonde interjected helpfully.

“Yes. LikeFifty Shades of—”

“No!” they both exclaimed in unison before she got it all the way out.

“If you want to learn, I have more realistic books. Better yet, we have beginner’s classes.”

“Oh, that’s perfect, master.” Hannah smiled encouragingly. “They cover the basics, including etiquette, so you won’t have to worry about offending anyone, even if you decide you’re strictly vanilla.”

“That’s just what I need. Please, sir,” she pleaded, deliberately using the respectful address they’d mentioned. “I’m not a prude, and I really, really need this job.”

He studied her for a moment, frowning. “I suppose it’s all right since you didn’t run for the exit and are willing to learn what we’re about. Another reason is because the staff is off-limits during their shifts. That doesn’t mean you won’t get offers. We have club submissives who work here in exchange for membership. You could be mistaken for one.” His frown deepened, and he said rather sternly, “If anyone makes you feel uncomfortable, come find me. If they don’t take no for an answer, red will have me or a dungeon monitor there on the spot. Understand?”

“Red?” she echoed in a whisper.

“It’s the club safeword,” Hanna explained. “Everyone respects it, or they face disciplinary action.” She nodded to the leather-and-leash couple who were locked in a steamy embrace. “That’s Master Dex. He’s what most clubs call the dungeon master.”

Bringing her attention back to the leashed girl got her distracted again. She just had to know. “Are those gold chains attached to her...um...”

“Nipples, yes. With clamps, most likely,” Hannah informed her, giggling when Bella winced. “You’re a double scoop of vanilla, huh?”

“If you look closely,” Ben interjected, “you’ll see Dex has one attached to her clit as well.”

“Isn’t that painful?” Bella asked the only sub in their group of three.

“Yeah, but it hurtssooogood,” Hannah replied with a don’t-knock-it-till-you-try-it grin.

Although she tried hard not to, Bella couldn’t keep her eyes from tracking back to the other couple. They were out of their steamy clinch and strolling with their arms around each other toward the stage. The big guy had his head dipped close to hers as she spoke. They looked so comfortable with one another, and so freaking sweet despite the leather and leash, that her teeth ached. She was so envious of the obvious love they shared, she’d be willing to give the ouchie clamps a try to experience the same just once in her lifetime.

“I think we’ve lost her again, master.” A hand waved in front of her face.

For the second time in a brief span, she found herself apologizing. “Sorry. I’m not usually this distracted. I promise.”

Hannah giggled while Ben nodded knowingly.

“It happens all the time. But we open soon and should really try to focus on the topic at hand,” he drawled, sounding a bit impatient with the meandering conversation. “Safewords aren’t something we take lightly. Not honoring them usually means a month’s suspension or loss of membership altogether, which is something everyone hopes to avoid.”

“Good to know there’s a safety net,” Bella stated with one last glance at the dungeon master and his submissive, sympathizing with the latter who had pinchy clamps on places she never dreamed was a thing.

“You’ll be with Marcy tonight,” Ben announced, striding toward the bar, clearly expecting she and Hannah would follow. “Before she gets here, let’s cover a few of the basics. Starting with our two-drink rule and the owner’s top-shelf preferences.”

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