Page 28 of Breaking Free

As if realizing she was acting like an infatuated teenager with her first crush, Josie cleared her throat and glanced at her watch. “It’s 4:47. We broke down the booth in record time.”

“That’s because there was nothing left to pack,” Piper pointed out then took the opportunity to talk up her friend. “Josie’s designs were such a hit, she sold out.”

“Congratulations on a successful day!” He glanced around at the orderly stacked crates. “I came to ask if I could help, but I guess you don’t need me.”

If she wasn’t mistaken, he sounded disappointed.

Josie picked up on that, too. “It still has to be loaded into my truck. But...” She exchanged a meaningful glance with Piper before continuing, “We were hoping to look around before we have to leave.”

“Not alone,” he replied firmly. “Nonmembers require an escort in the playroom. I’m on duty at six, but I’d be happy to give you the nickel tour and answer any questions you have.”

Although she had regained her ability to speak, Josie still hadn’t blinked that she could tell, likely because she didn’t want to miss a single moment of her interaction with the insanely handsome dom.

“We’d love to take the nickel tour,” her friend eagerly accepted for them both. “Isn’t that right, Piper?”

“Oh yes, and it’s kind of you to offer,” she quickly chimed in when prompted, understanding her assignment as wingman. Squatting, she retrieved a business card from one of the boxes and passed it to him. “I’m only the assistant. This is Josie, the creative genius behind Leather and Lace.”

He took it, although his focus was solely on Josie, as if she and the card didn’t exist. “I’m Master Axyl, but lovely redheads can call me ‘sir.’”

Piper barely refrained from groaning at the corny remark. Josie, on the other hand, lapped it up like a kitten with a saucer of cream. She could feel the electricity crackling between them and pressed her lips together, suppressing a smile.

Axyl cleared his throat. “We should get started. There isn’t much time.”

When he stepped aside for them to move out from behind the table, the thinning crowd gave Piper her first unobstructed view of the room. Her gaze immediately went to the large, cordoned-off area across from them, the source of the humming and buzzing they’d heard all afternoon.

“I thought my ears were ringing from all the people chattering,” Josie whispered. “I never imagined...”

Piper was less reserved in her shock. “What is that thing?” she asked much too loudly, staring in disbelief at a bare-below-the-waist brunette perched on a saddle mounted to what looked like a sawhorse.

“Fucking machines,” Master Axyl supplied. “For lack of a more polite term. That booth and yours were by far the most popular. We have a Sybian in one of the theme rooms upstairs, but it doesn’t compare to these newer models.” He took her friend’s hand and tucked it into the crook of his elbow then offered her his other arm, proving she did exist in his Josie preoccupied world. “Since you’re both interested, we’ll start our mini-tour there.”

Other than the few guys she’d been with, Piper hadn’t ever witnessed anyone orgasm before and never in public. But as soon as they walked up to the roped-off area, the brunette’s cries filled the air. She shuddered, imploring the man beside thesawhorse holding the controls. “Turn it off, sir, please. I can’t take any more.”

The others watching grinned, some chuckled, and many applauded.

“Six in ten minutes. That’s a record even for you, my love,” the barrel-chested behemoth said. Were all these doms giants? He aimed the remote at the machine. “I’ll inform Eric that this one has Samson’s stamp of approval.”

With the push of a button, the buzzing stopped, and the woman collapsed forward. She would have fallen on the hard tile floor if the man hadn’t caught her.

“Samson and Tara are always entertaining, even when mechanical devices aren’t involved,” Master Axyl said with a chuckle. “There’s a lot more to see. We must keep moving before time runs out.”

He led them on a whirlwind tour of the other booths, also pointing out key features of the playroom. They saw everything from sex toys in every shape, size, and color to hand-wrapped whips and floggers. One booth had yards and yards of rope in pink, red, green, and blue and bins of Home Depot-type hardware.

He answered Piper’s question before she could ask it. “Rope bondage is very popular. The ropes and hardware are also used for suspensions.”

At the S word, both women looked up at the chains, cables, bars, and pulleys dangling from the high ceiling. Piper had a million questions, but Master Axyl moved them along, keeping them on pace. In a blink, fifteen minutes passed and they had come full circle to where their booth had once been.

The staff had their display racks and trunks loaded on a flat handcart. Accepting no arguments from her and Josie, Master Axyl took charge of it and escorted them to the service hall offthe lounge and out the back door to where they had parked. He also loaded everything into the truck bed in minutes.

After witnessing the electricity arcing between the big dom and her friend, not to mention several heated glances, Piper made herself scarce. She thanked him and slid into the passenger seat, leaving Josie to say her goodbyes.

Then she waited, trying hard not to look but dying to see if the boldly confident dom would kiss her after knowing her for barely half an hour. When the driver’s door opened and Josie climbed in, she was bubbling over with excitement. She hadn’t closed the door before she asked, “You’ll never guess what I got?”

“Oh, I don’t know.” Piper tapped her pursed lips with a finger. “The hots for a six-and-a-half-foot-tall Adonis made of muscle?”

“Well, yes, that,” she said, grinning from ear to ear as she buckled her seat belt. “But this is something for both of us. Two invitations to open sub night next weekend.”

Piper waited for her to explain, prompting when she didn’t, “And that is...”

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