Page 13 of For Love & Torture
Chapter 7
Isabel
The night is electric with so many people in the club. Grant and I will be the first act. I’m so nervous—though we’ve prepared extensively, we have never done the scene in front of anyone.
I’m a complete mess.
But Grant seems calm as a cucumber. And damn, he’s looking sexy as hell. Nothing but black silk pants—almost like pajamas—adorn him. A simple black mask hides his identity. His blue eyes shine out from under the mask. His salt and pepper hair hangs to his shoulders in loose waves. Grant is the epitome of the powerful Dom.
I’m tied in the middle of the stage, my feet not touching the ground. I’m wrapped in an intricate tangling of rope that has been hung over one of the beams in the ceiling, making me look like a fly trapped in a spider’s web.
It was dark as we set up our scene behind the red curtain that closes us off from the people in the main ballroom. Grant comes to me just before the curtain is raised. “You okay?”
I gulp. “No.”
Soft fingertips run over my lips. “Will you be okay?”
His touch soothes me immediately, just like it always does. “With you, I will be.”
“Good girl. You can trust me.” His lips touch mine for only a moment. It sends sparks shooting through me, just like it always does.
He and I have practiced a lot in the months before the club’s opening night. We have watched tons of videos to learn techniques. And we’ve learned about all kinds of kinks. There are tons of them.
I have worked hard in preparation for this night, creating a website and questionnaire so our members will be able to find the people who are right for them. It was a painstaking process. But so far, financially, it has been worth all that hard work.
The money that’s in my personal bank account is far beyond any amount I have ever dreamed I would see in it. My business degree is paying off in spades. I graduated a month before the club opened and Grant gave me a crazy huge amount of money as a graduation gift, paying off my student loans.
I invited him to the graduation party my parents threw for me, but in true Grant Jamison fashion, he declined the invitation. I wasn’t shocked or upset that he didn’t want to come and meet my family and friends.
That isn’t Grant.
It never will be, from what I can see.
Grant’s demons run deep. He fell asleep just once after one of our sessions. He woke, screaming, sitting straight up in bed. Then he left me without so much as a word.
I didn’t try to comfort him or ask him what was wrong. I knew better than to do that. Things like that only make him mad.
Complicated doesn’t even begin to describe Grant. He is indescribable in more ways than one.
The way he makes me feel is out of this world. I want more with the man—how couldn’t I—but I will never push him for it. I worry that one day I will lose him to another woman. Not that I have him now, but I am the only woman he sees fit to fuck. I hope, one day, that it might turn into something more. Even though the odds are so unlikely, I can’t help but hope.
For the time being, though, I’m content with what we have.
The curtain begins to rise, and Grant walks away from me to take his place at center stage. I watch as the audience begins to murmur as they turn their attention to the stage.
Grant opens his arms, greeting them all once more. “Good evening.”
A few of the men shout out greetings in return. I’m mesmerized by all the people in attendance. People who will soon be watching me get beaten and fucked.
What the hell am I doing?
Grant’s hands drop to his sides. “Welcome to The Dungeon of Decorum, a place where anything is possible.”
Thunderous applause fills the large room. I can actually feel the vibration through the rope that holds me. The energy from the audience is so alive that I can feel goose bumps form on my skin. It is absolutely astonishing.
With a gesture to me, Grant goes on, “We’re here tonight to show you how a scene is played out. I know we have some videos for you all to watch on our website and some of you may have done this sort of thing already, but we thought a real scene would be in order to get the ball rolling. We hope you all find it enticing and that it motivates you to create your own scenes that you can play out for your fellow club members. The idea is for you all to gain some of our energy and turn it into your own. And one day you will be on the stage, lending us some of your energy.” He turns to look at me. “Are you ready?”
“Yes, sir.”
