Page 33 of Seduce

“What’s bothering you?”

Tessa shifted on the blanket. “I’m fine playing in public at the club, but not anywhere else.” That was really it. She’d been under media scrutiny for so long, she still lived in fear they’d find her, and it would be a shit show. Past betrayals still weighed heavily on her mind.

“I can live with that. What about playing here at my home or your apartment?”

“As long as we’re discreet, I’m fine with it.”

“You don’t seem to mind being seen at the store or the book club.”

She shifted again. “That’s different. I’m really there for the book club and nothing else.” But she did look around the other night. She needed to be more careful. Yes, it had been years since the press followed her around, but that didn’t mean they wouldn’t start again if they figured out where she was and who she was.

Heck, that reporter had hounded Jordan and Crystal about their case. It wasn’t something Tessa wanted to deal with again. She needed her privacy.

“Interesting.” He grabbed a pillow and lay back on the blanket and turned his head so he could see her. “How do you feel about being my sub?”

Instant heat flowed through her veins at his words. “Shouldn’t we go through the training program first?” Chicken.

“We can but think about how much more fun we can have.” Damon turned on his side and ran his hand over her denim-clad leg. Nerves came alive under his touch. “And it’s not really training. With brand new members, we have the class you went through the other night for the background checks, questionnaire, etc. Class two is going over rules and protocols. Class three is introduction to the club and answering questions. And class four is a night to play, depending on experience level.”

“Talk to me about that. How do you determine experience levels?” She was interested in their concept.

“The questionnaire helps. We can usually tell right away when someone is very new to the lifestyle, wants to explore more, or has been in the lifestyle.” His fingers trailed up her leg to her knee. “When rules and protocols come into play, novices need a lot of explanation, whereas others don’t.”

“But rules and protocols are not the same in each club?”

“You are correct.” His finger traced circles on her kneecap. “Ours are pretty basic and detailed in the documentation. You did read what you were given, right?”

“I did.” She had read the rules, which were pretty straightforward. The protocols were fairly simple as well. “Tell me more about the wristbands.”

“Those were my idea.” He scooted closer to her. “I’d noticed a lot of time was being wasted on negotiation, not that it isn’t important. It is. But some Doms and subs were spending hours talking and had no time to see if they played well together.” He walked his fingers up to her thigh.

“So how do the wristbands work?” Tessa tried to ignore Damon’s touch, but it was hard.

“We read over the questionnaire of the sub, and we go with a color system. White is for a new subs.”

“But, technically, I’m not new.”

“You’re not.”

“Okay, go on.”

“Pink and white is a medium experience sub. Green and white, experienced. Red and white for a masochist. Lastly purple and white for a taken sub.”

“What about the Doms?”

“Masters/Doms are black, DM is yellow, Red is for sadist.”

“Isn’t that a little confusing that Masters and Dom are both black wristbands?”

Damon’s eyes widened. “We hadn’t thought about that, but now that you mention it, it could be. I’ll have to bring that up with Max and Jordan.”

“I noticed they were an elastic band with fabric over it. Don’t they get caught on things?”

“Observant, aren’t you.” He ran his finger over her cheek.

Heat flooded Tessa’s face. Damon’s touch was so soft, so sensual.

“They do sometimes. We’re working on a new band that will be less likely to catch,” he said.

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