That worked for him. The thought of anyone else touching Eva with him around set his blood boiling. “No problem. Do you have a checklist or something we can review together?”
“I… I have to get back to work. If you go up to the front lobby, Amanda will give you one. I’ll fill mine out later and we can go over it next time you stop by.”
He wondered why she hadn’t completed one before. At their club, everyone had a checklist on file and he suspected it worked the same way here. That either meant she trusted him more and needed to revise her list or that she didn’t scene at the club. Either way, he was pleased and didn’t want to push his luck.
“Let me help you down from there.” Gio placed her gently on the ground then opened the door.
Ted was walking down the hallway as they left the infirmary. “Everything okay, Eva?”
Having another Dom speak directly to his sub rankled Gio. His parents insisted on strict protocols. Gio had to remember she wasn’t wearing his collar yet and Ted was her boss. Although it bothered him, he’d have to let it slide until they had their arrangement worked out.
“Yeah, sure, boss. Everything’s cool,” Eva reassured Ted.
“Take the night off, Eva. You don’t need to be on that leg and the place is pretty quiet. I set up a cooler with some refreshments. It will be fine.” Ted kept looking from Gio to Eva and back again.
“That’s not necessary. I’m fine. Really.” Eva said quickly.
“Visit with your friend, Eva. You haven’t taken any time off in months. Relax and enjoy the amenities the club has to offer,” Ted encouraged.
He wasn’t sure why Ted was helping him out, but he appreciated it. “Eva was saying we could get an interest inventory checklist from the receptionist?”
Eva turned away, but he noticed she’d begun blushing again. Gio was beginning to think that Eva hadn’t scened much in the club. He was curious to find out why.
For just a moment, a knowing smile lit Ted’s face. It was gone just as fast, leaving Gio to wonder if it was just hopeful thinking on his part. Gio could use a few of Eva’s friends in his court.
“Amanda has everything you’ll need. Welcome to DiscipliNation, Gio. I think you’re going to like it here.” Ted shook his hand and gave him a pat on the back.
Gio steered Eva to a comfortable-looking couch. He sat her down and propped her leg on a nearby cushion. “I’ll be back in a moment. I expect to find you right here when I get back.”
“Yes, Sir.” Her voice oozed sarcasm.
Tipping her chin upward with his index finger, he warned her. “Be careful, little one. I
will
turn you over my knee.”
Eva winked and he laughed before heading back through the men’s locker room. There was probably a shortcut, but he didn’t want to ask what it was. As he rounded the corner to the lobby, he noticed James sitting on the corner of Amanda’s desk.
James stood and held out his hand. “Sorry we got off to a rocky start. André told us he extended an open invitation to you and your family. I’d like to introduce my wife and subbie, Amanda.”
After shaking hands, Gio turned to Amanda and realized she was the woman James had sat with at the reception. “Nice to officially meet you, ma’am.” Hearing that they were married was a huge relief. No way in hell would Eva scene with a married man. She’d obviously opened her mind to new experiences, but he highly doubted that she’d ever go for that.
“André said we were to make sure your family felt welcome,” Amanda explained.
Gio remembered hearing that Amanda was a relative of André. “That was kind of him. Eva said I could get a couple of checklists from you.”
“Two?” James asked as Amanda opened her desk drawer.
“Yes, two please.”
“That was fast.” James looked at him expectantly.
James was obviously fishing for details. It was on the tip of Gio’s tongue to tell him to piss up a rope. Instead, Gio decided that open disclosure might be the best tack. “Eva has consented to be my submissive.” That was probably aggrandizing their agreement, but Gio didn’t really give a shit.
Amanda gasped. “Congratulations! We wish you both the best.”
“That’s quite an honor.” James leaned against Amanda’s desk. “Eva is very special to us.”
“I’m glad she’s had friends looking out for her.”
But that’s my job now, asshole.
Gio took the clipboards, checklists and pens from Amanda. “Thank you.”
“Have fun,” Amanda encouraged.
Gio lifted his hand in a half wave as he entered the men’s locker room again. He slowed his pace and examined his actions. He felt a little guilty, like he was a thief and he’d just been handed the keys to the city. Anyway that he looked at it, he was taking advantage of the situation. There was little doubt that he had manipulated Eva. She’d asked him to respect her wishes and he’d blatantly worked around her objections. Fuck, he was doing it again.
As he moved into the club, he considered his alternatives. Every honorable option had him never seeing Eva again and that wasn’t acceptable. In his black heart, he knew they were supposed to be together. The fact that she was into BDSM only reinforced his belief. Eva may have been immune to Cupid’s bitey little arrow, but Gio wasn’t. He’d been shot straight through the heart years ago and the time since hadn’t lessened its impact.
Eva was sitting on the couch, right where he’d left her. He let out a sigh of relief. She could have snuck out the back and there wouldn’t have been too much he could have done about it. Maybe, underneath all the hurt, she did want to be with him too. He fervently hoped so.
Gio sat next to her. “You doing okay? Do you want me to grab you a soda or anything?”
“I’m fine, Gio. Seriously. I’ve had worse cuts shaving.” She sounded a little embarrassed.
“Okay.” He handed her the clipboard and pen. “This looks a little more comprehensive than the one we use.” He turned the page and began scanning the second sheet. “I like the answer options—yes, no and question mark. Keeps it simple.”
Eva nodded but didn’t say anything. She, too, was looking over the list as if it were the first time she’d seen it.
She was quiet for several minutes and Gio was starting to get worried. The expression on her face was too serious. When she let out a heavy sigh, he put his hand on her wrist.
“What’s wrong, sweetheart?”
“I just answered ‘no’ to an entire section. I thought I was more open-minded than this.” Eva sent him a sad smile.
“Don’t worry about it.” He shrugged. “Once I got started, I wished there were more answer choices. ‘Maybe’ or ‘under certain conditions’ would have been helpful a few times.”
Eva chuckled. “Yeah, it would have.”
“Sweetheart, don’t sweat this. We’ll figure it out one step at a time. These documents are supposed to be fluid, ever changing. You try something you think you’re going to like but don’t, so you move the yes into the no category. Sometimes you get involved with someone and something you think you’d never try suddenly becomes enticing. It’s all okay. The lines you draw today can be erased and drawn elsewhere tomorrow.”
“You’re right.” She put her hand over his for a moment then quickly removed it and chuckled awkwardly. “Look at all the choices in the restraint category. Sheesh! I never realized there were this many options.”
He noticed that her hand holding the clipboard was shaking.
Why was she so nervous?
“I’ve never been a fan of those leather hoods. Phoenix is hot enough without putting something like that on your head.”
“Yeah, they gotta be hotter than hell. And in a club setting, how do you know for sure who is doing what?” She turned her pen end over end and tapped it.
“Rest assured, Eva, I’d never let anyone else touch you while we’re scening together. In fact, I’d appreciate it if you’d wear my collar while you’re in the club. If I see some schmo making time with you, I’m gonna bust his head.” Of course, now he needed to buy one. He’d never had the desire to collar a sub before. It wouldn’t have mattered, anyway—for Eva he needed to find something special.
“Whoa, hold up. This isn’t a relationship. It’s just scening and only in the clubs.” Eva slid sideways and turned, looking him in the eye.
“I didn’t say a ring, Eva, I said a collar, and I only asked you to wear it at the clubs.” Gio tried hard to insert amusement into his voice. “We aren’t having a relationship, but I’m going to be damned pissed if I find you’re fucking someone else while we have an agreement.” He wasn’t backing up on this issue.
“The term we use in polite company is ‘scening’, not fucking, Gio. You’d do well to remember that.”
Her prim and proper attitude made him want to smile. “I apologize for my vulgar language. Scening is a much better term because fucking implies that I’d only be pissed if you were engaging in intercourse and that’s false. I should have made it clear that I’d be busting heads if you were involved in any sort of sexual behavior.” The idea of her getting down and dirty with anyone else kept the smile from appearing on his face. He took a deep breath and searched for a logical, unemotional reason why her ‘scening’ with someone else would be a bad idea. “It’s just safer that way… Health-wise and all.”
“Sure, I can see that.” She looked at him long and hard. “I wouldn’t want to catch anything from some girl you might hook up with. Speaking of which… This club demands regular testing. I’m clear. Please get checked before we scene again.”
Eva tilted her head down and her hair blocked his view of her face but from her brittle tone, he knew she wasn’t happy.
Gio tucked her silky blonde tresses behind her ear. “We do, too. I haven’t been with anyone but you since my last test. No worries there.”
“What are your duties at Dom’s Place?” Her voice sounded casual, but her body language was anything but.
“For the most part, I monitor the dungeon.” He didn’t want to discuss his other duties. Duties he would no longer be participating in anyway.
“Ahh, I see. I thought you might be a Dom in Residence.” Her head was still tipped downward, but her eyes pinned him to the wall.
He cleared his throat, stalling for time, hoping a lightning strike would eradicate him from the face of the Earth and spare him from having this discussion. “I have, in the past, served in that capacity. But, Eva, while we have an arrangement, I will only work as a DM.”
When she turned away from him, he took her chin between his thumb and index finger to make her look at him. “I figured I’d be spending a lot more time here. My brothers enjoy helping out at the club. I’m not really needed much.”
“I appreciate that. Like you said, there are health concerns to consider and unattached women…” She shrugged.
He could point out that a DR’s duties went beyond unattached women, but since it wouldn’t help his situation, he let it slide. “Yeah, I hear ya. If you’re done, I’d like to see your list.”
She looked back through the pages. “I guess I’m done.” Eva slid her pen through the clipboard catch, but she didn’t give it to him. Instead she placed both hands on the top corners and rocked back and forth.
Gio wasn’t sure if she was having second thoughts about scening with him or if she was concerned about the list. Most likely it was both. “Eva, the only things we’re going to do are those activities that we’ve both indicated we desire.”
“I know.” She stopped rocking, but she still wasn’t looking at him.
“I expect there are items on the list where we disagree. It would be really odd if there weren’t.” He kept hoping she’d throw him a sign or give him a hint as to what she was thinking.
Eva nodded.
“Are you comfortable with your answers, given that this is an ever changing document and you can make new choices as needed?” He just needed to be patient with her and show her he wasn’t going to force her into something.
She took a deep breath then exhaled slowly before lifting her head. “Yeah.” Eva handed him the clipboard and took his in exchange.
He gave a quick glance through hers and realized his first assumption had been completely wrong.
If
she had a list on file, he’d bet dollars to donuts that it was less restrictive than this. Either she had very narrow tastes or she didn’t trust him for shit. He wanted to talk to her about it, but he knew it would just cost him ground.
Gio decided he needed to take his time and gain her trust. “I have my kit in the locker room. Since you have the night off, why don’t we adjourn to a privacy room?”
Chapter Four
Her head popped up and she met his gaze, not having clue one how to answer. “I…um… Sure, yeah. Sounds good.”
Eva watched as Gio headed off. Damn, he had a sexy ass. The tension coiling through her became too much. She had to do something. Pushing off the couch, she walked to the bar, wishing it were miles away instead of only a few feet. She dropped his clipboard on the counter, removed his list and folded it into a small square.
She felt guilty for marking ‘no’ to so many things. She’d thought she’d made such huge strides, yet that list told her she was still that scared country girl, afraid to get out of her comfort zone. While filling out the list, she’d considered bluffing her way through it. Knowing he’d, at some point, call her on it kept her from going that route.
This was such a bad idea. It wasn’t going to end well. It couldn’t. They had too much backstory to keep it just sex for sex’s sake.
Eva jumped when Gio placed his hand on the small of her back. Thankfully, he chose to ignore it.
“I’m assuming the privacy rooms are over there?” He pointed to the far end of the club.
“Yeah. I don’t know if any of them are open, though.” She noticed she was wringing her hands and laid them flat along the counter.
“If DiscipliNation is anything like Dom’s Place, midweek is pretty slow. I expect at least one will be open. Let’s go talk to a DM and find out.” Gio began leading her past the stage.
Butterflies were flittering in her stomach. No matter how much her head told her to run, her body wouldn’t let her. She was drawn to Gio, whether she wanted to be or not.
As they neared the hallway, Gio pulled her against him. “I know the lines get a little fuzzy since you work here, but I was taught protocol is important. When we are together, you will defer to me. Do not speak to anyone else without permission. If you are addressed, you will look to me for permission before responding. Do you understand?”