Page 52 of Beneath the Scars
“Ronnie, Samantha,” I greet them.
“You haven’t been here in forever. What have you been up to?” Ronnie asks. Her perfectly bleached hair hangs in waves around her face. She’s in a similar outfit to Addie’s, except she doesn’t pull it off as well. Samantha is wearing a skintight red dress and matching sky-high heels. The two of them play together often, but never with me, much to their disappointment.
“I’ve just been really busy.” I don’t have any desire to talk to them, but I feel rude not introducing Addie to them. “Adalaide, this is Veronica and Samantha. Ladies, this is my Addie.”
Adalaide lifts a brow at me, making it very clear she’s not impressed with these two. “It’s nice to meet you,” she says, her tone neutral. “Sorry I’ve been keeping him away.”
I bite the inside of my cheek as laughter bubbles up my throat. How bad is it that I’m reveling in Addie staking a claim on me?
“You’re wearing white tonight. That’s a bummer.” Ronnie pouts. The fake expression is over-the-top.
“Yeah, I’m just here with my girl, showing her around now.”
“Well, come find us if anything changes. You know how we feel about you.”
“That won’t happen, but it was good to see you.”
Ronnie’s pout is slightly more real this time before she grabs Samantha’s arm and turns away from us.
I look at Addie, and amusement dances in her brown eyes. “Ronnie and Samantha, huh?”
“Hush, you.” I pinch her chin between my thumb and forefinger and press a kiss to her mouth.
That could have gone horribly wrong had Addie been any other woman. The jealousy and anger could have turned this whole experience bad. Instead, Addie’s teasing me over the simpering women of my past.
“So what color do you normally have?” Addie asks, holding her bracelets up.
“Red, for Doms looking for a sub.” I move behind Addie to speak in her ear. “Look around. Everyone here is looking for something.”
A multitude of people are flirting over cocktails. A male sub kneels at his Domme’s feet while she strokes his hair. Twowomen are cuddled on a couch, speaking intimately with each other, and I have no doubt they’re moments away from finding a space to play.
“The wristbands help start the conversations, but then you have to discuss what comes next. So, Adalaide. What do you want to come next?”
She looks at me over her shoulder. “I’m ready for anything as long as it’s just us.”
I press a kiss to her shoulder. “Good. Finish your drink first.”
As Addie sips the last of her wine, her eyes land on a couple across the room doing more than kissing.
The woman is wearing a little black dress and sitting across a well-dressed man’s lap. Her side is pressed against his chest, and her arms are wrapped around his shoulders. At first glance, they seem to be simply kissing—until you look at his hands. One is hidden under her skirt, very obviously moving in a way that his woman is enjoying based on the way her hips are rolling.
I lower my lips to Addie’s ear. “Is watching them turning you on?”
“Mm-hmm.”
“Do you want to be in her place?”
Addie turns to me. “It would be so easy to get lost in kissing you that I wouldn’t care if anyone else were watching.”
I kiss her, pleased by her admission. “No one gets to see you come but me, Adalaide. But teasing you? Showing off that I’m the only one who gets to touch you? Yeah, that I could get behind.”
Addie downs the last sip of her wine. “Take me somewhere private?”
“Happily.” Holding Addie’s hand, I lead her down a hallway toward the private rooms. I reserved one for us when Imade the decision to bring Addie here, and the hostess gave me a key when we arrived.
We pass several doors before finally reaching ours. Leading Addie into the room, I explain how this works. “This hallway has private rooms. No one is allowed in unless one of the panic buttons is pressed—there are three in each room.”
In the middle of the room is a large four-poster bed with black silk sheets. There’s a brown leather chair in the corner and a couple of chests with drawers holding all manner of toys and lubricants. Everything is brand new and available for us to use. I point out the buttons: one each by the door, the chair, and the bed. “On the other side of the building are the rooms where you can watch others, as well as demo rooms for when they have instructors come to teach different apparatuses.”
