Page 25 of Seduce

“I can agree to that.”

“Fine.” He let his hand slide from her chin to her thigh. She shifted but didn’t push his hand away. “Jordan called to tell me that you had agreed I would be your trainer.”

“Yes. I’m not sure what it involves.” Her hand fluttered to her throat.

“Usually, I’d go through this when we met up Thursday, but there’s no harm in doing it now.” His fingers flexed against her thigh. “When the three of us set up the club, we agreed on some standards, though they’ve evolved over the years.”

“Right, because there weren’t classes or questionnaires when I joined. I don’t even remember the NDA or background checks, for that matter.”

“Yeah, when we first opened, we had only the NDAs. After six months, we included background checks, and two years ago, we started the questionnaires and classes.”

“Why classes?” She tilted her head.

Without thinking, Damon lifted his hand and traced the line of her neck with his fingers. Her skin was so soft and delicate. “We found some members were bringing guests who were a little too new to the lifestyle, and they weren’t ready for the club experience.” He remembered a few of those former members. “So the first class was a basic introduction, as you saw.”

“How many make it through the first night?” She shivered as he traced the skin at the back of her neck. “I noticed the two couples shaking their heads as Max talked with them.”

“It’s about a fifty-fifty rate.”

“That many drop out?”

“Yes. I know it sounds high. It mainly has to do with the background checks. Many people storm out at that point.”

“Oh, I can see that happening. Some people don’t want others to know their personal business.”

“Right. We really don’t care about stuff like traffic tickets and jaywalking; it’s mainly to make sure there are no felony convictions, no domestic or animal abuse charges, trafficking issues, or underage problems.”

“Who does them for you?”

“We have a member who is local law enforcement; he helps us out. Of course, we pay for the checks we have done.” Damon took a sip of wine. He didn’t want her to think they were misusing the system.

“So where does the questionnaire come into play?”

“We were trying to find a way to make negotiations a bit easier. So many Doms were spending hours talking with subs that playtime was limited or non-existent. With the questionnaire, they can read over a sub’s hard limits to see if they’re a match.”

“I wonder why others don’t do that?”

“I’m sure some do. It is time consuming, but it benefits everyone.”

“So you’ll be reading mine?”

“With pleasure.” He couldn’t wait to see it. Based on how she reacted when he put the cuffs on her at the store Wednesday night, bondage was probably a soft limit.

“And do I get to see your questionnaire?”

“If you like, but I’m more than willing to tell you whatever you want to know.” He angled his head down. “I want to be your Dom.”

A small groan left her lips, and her body shifted closer to him.

Damn, she reacted to his Dom voice. He’d never had a woman do that before. He’d have to be very careful with Tessa. “Snap out of it, Tessa.” He modulated his tone slightly.

Her eyes refocused, and she straightened. “I’m sorry. I zoned out there for a minute.”

“What were you feeling just then?” While her skin was slightly flushed, there’d been little change in her breathing. He needed to know what to watch for.

“Warm, fuzzy. Your voice has that quality to it. Makes me think of a tropical night in the arms of a lover. And then—wham—off I go into that cloud of enchantment.”

Enchantment? He hadn’t heard that one before. Fascinating. “I’ll watch my tone then. Thursday night, I’ll be waiting for you at the club. We’ll take a tour, and I’ll show you all the equipment.”