Page 16 of Amy's Santa

“You’ve whipped my daughter?” I stiffen.

“I told you, I’ve never played with her. But I can reassure you, Amy’s no masochist, though there would be nothing wrong if she was.”

Am I reassured? Fuck yes. I don’t give a damn about whether it’s in a club or not, but I’ll cut off the hand of any man hurting my daughter.

Xander seems to look at a spot above my head. “The club we go to is a good one, I’ve been a member for years. I’ve put in enough time and garnered sufficient respect that I’ve rights as a master Dom, and, take my turn at being a dungeon monitor. As I said, safety is a priority.”

“Has Amy been going to the same club for years?”

His head moves in a negative direction, and his brow furrows. “Maybe for the last twelve months. After she joined, I began to notice her around the club, well, who could miss her, she’s a beautiful woman. But as I said, I’ve never played with her.”

“Not your type? Or you hers?”

Now the man shrugs. “Just didn’t happen. I already had my established subs.”

“She was new to BDSM?”

He chuckles. “Definitely not. She’d been a regular at another club, moved to ours because it has a good reputation.” His mouth twists and I realise it probably hadn’t lived up to its repute. “I said I was a dungeon monitor. Well, that involves going around, viewing the scenes, and making sure they are all performed safely, and that full consent has been obtained. The club is well equipped and some scenes can be very intense. Obviously the experience can be very sexual, but penetration is not allowed.”

I shake my head, revising my opinion. No cocks in cunts? “So Amy didn’t go to the club for sex?” I exchange a quick look with Drum.

“BDSM clubs are sexual, but sex isn’t what, or all, they’re about. They allow a person to be what they want to be, to relax and get out of their heads for a while. With subs, it’s subspace where they totally let go, letting someone else take control and drive their pleasure. Doms, well, it’s a heady experience to have someone place themselves in your care. I get off on that.” He does a quick check to make sure we’re keeping up. “In Amy’s case, she has a demanding job. One where she has to make decisions, and direct other people, she’s got sufficient responsibility where making the right call can be a matter of life or death.” He looks up and meets our eyes. “She might be submissive at her core, but she’s not when it comes to her daily life.”

“But at the club, she can be?” I’m starting to understand. Starting. Not there as yet.

“It’s a power exchange. When a submissive like Amy comes into the club, she can leave her worries at the door. For a few hours she can let someone else make all the choices for her. As I said, I didn’t play directly with Amy, but I have a lot of experience with subs.”

“So you know what type of… what did you call it, play? That Amy was into.”

“I think we’re entering the area of confidentiality, and I’m not going to cross it.” Xander’s voice deepens and what I suspect is the Dom, appears. “What she likes and wants is between her and her Dom, and none of anyone else’s business. But,” he holds up his hand when I go to speak, “I never saw… well, before… I didn’t see her submitting to anything other than a light erotic flogging.”

I realise I don’t want to know. “So leaving aside the specifics, what sort of things would a submissive like Amy go there for?”

“If I was playing with a sub like her, I’d see that she liked to be restrained, maybe blindfolded, then I’d submit her to all sorts of sensations: feathers, a Wartenberg wheel, maybe even a little wax or a violet wand. Whatever I thought would arouse her and get her out of her head, so she can forget everyday life and her concerns for a while.”

That doesn’t sound much different to how I’ve played with Marc in the past and have to admit to there being handcuffs kept in my bedside table. Slick, God rest his soul, was more into that sort of thing, having had tips from Rope and Cuff in Vegas, and he hadn’t been shy about sharing them. I glance at Drummer who’s steadily looking at his clasped hands on the desk and suppress a grin. I reckon Sam probably knows a lot about restraints. I begin to become a little more comfortable with things Amy might have experienced. It isn’t as bad as I first had thought.

“You’ve given us enough background.” Drummer pointedly looks at the clock above the door. “Get on with the specifics. What went wrong in this idyllic club of yours?”

A dip and rise of Xander’s head shows he’s indeed going to get down to business.

“As a dungeon monitor I might not have played with all the subs, but I was aware of them of course. I knew the ones which have masochistic tendencies, and those which had none. I knew the Doms preferences as well, and their skill levels. If I thought a Dom was inexperienced or trying something for the first time, I’d make sure to stay close by to step in if necessary.” He breaks off as though the memory is painful, and rubs at his temples again. “When I saw her with Flint, I was surprised. Flint is a sadist, and Amy wasn’t into pain. I thought it an odd coupling. Flint had been away from the club for a while, I don’t think Amy had met him before.” Xander’s voice has again deepened, and despite his iron control, a touch of anger comes into it.

“Both Dom and sub would have had negotiations, her consent would have been obtained for whatever he’d planned. As a club strict on safety, Flint had completed our training program before being allowed on the floor. That covers things like basic anatomy. It was unusual for him to target such a sub, but then, he’d been absent a while, and who knows what mood he was in that night. But I decided to keep a close eye on them. I even explained to the other dungeon monitor where my focus was going to be for the next couple of hours. Flint had taken her to a private room, but it had a viewing pane in the door, so that’s where I was stationed.”

“If you were keeping a close eye on them, what the fuck happened to my daughter?” He’s admitting to some sort of failure. How much will determine his punishment to come.

Xander gives a quick shake of his head. “Flint had her restrained, on a bondage table. She was blindfolded. Nothing unusual there.”

“Naked?” I ask, gritting my teeth for the answer.

But Xander’s glare back shows he’s not going to go there.

“What did this Flint do?” Drummer rasps out, sitting forward. Another man might have flinched, but not Xander.

“While I was watching, nothing unexpected. I noticed Flint had clocked me staying nearby and didn’t seem pleased about it. But I just put that down to him thinking he was experienced enough to not need a caretaker. Well, to be honest, I didn’t give a damn what he was thinking, I just wanted to see a happy and safe sub.”

“While you were watching,” Drummer snarls grabbing at his words, “you left her? Because this is where you’re going, isn’t it?”

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