Aino rolled to his right side, lying down next to him and smiling. “I believe that you were saying something about not being able to satisfy me?”
“So rub it in, I am being an asshole. I already know that. I couldn’t imagine how you would be on top of me without hurting me, but you did it. I guess I forgot how flexible you were. Are you still mad at me?”
“Are you still throwing me out?”
“I think that would be a really stupid thing to do. You are so good for me, and I have been blinded by the fear of losing you. I think when I saw you with the suitcase in your hand, I realized that I was going to lose you. Remember the day in the limo when we picked you up to go to the airport, and I pretended that I was going to rape you?”
“Of course, why do you bring that up now?”
“I didn’t want to face you afterward because I was ashamed to have tested you that way. I never fell asleep, but rather I laid there with my eyes closed knowing that if I lost you, my life would never be the same. When you walked out on me a week later, I wanted to die. I have never felt so hurt because a woman left me. I wanted to run after you and stop you from getting on the plane. I didn’t, but the feeling that you had taken a part of me home with you didn’t go away. I picked up the phone a hundred times to call you and didn’t because I was afraid you would hang up on me. That would finalize my hopes of getting you back. I came back to get you because I realized how empty my life seemed to be without you. That same feeling of desperation hit me when I saw you with the suitcase. I knew that you were going to leave. My emotions get mixed up within my often too-logical mind sometimes, and I make bad decisions. Do you still want to marry me?”
“Of course I do,” she whispered.
“I think that we should have the blood tests while we are at the hospital tomorrow. I’m sure Evan, the bartender from my club would be happy to do the ceremony for us. He is a certified justice of the peace. I will call him. I still want you to go down and check on the southern club, but you had better be back by noon on the next day, because we are getting married.”
“I really think you have brain damage.”
“Why?”
“An hour ago you told me to leave and not come back. Then you get me into bed with you, and now you are saying that we are getting married in two days. Doesn’t that sound a bit odd to you?”
“I suppose when you turn it into a paragraph it sounds odd. In my mind there is nothing more than facing the reality of what I want. I don’t want you to leave. I want you in my bed and in my life. I want to make that final commitment to you because I have been so indecisive. I need to stop worrying and start setting my mind on being happy and thankful that you stayed around long enough for me to come to my senses. I could have died in that car, but I didn’t. What you said is true though. I’m not really fighting to be alive. I love you, and that is all that really matters.”
“I will be back at twelve. If you want this, then you make the arrangements. Whatever you choose is fine. Just tell me where I am to meet you.”
“You won’t be disappointed. I promise to make the last month up to you.”
“I will hold you to that promise.”
“Good.”
Condor spent the night in bed with Aino and seemed to be a changed man in the morning. His entire demeanor was brighter, and he greeted the day by kissing her. Jeffrey arrived as Aino was washing him up for the day and sat telling them about his date as they got Condor dressed and ready to go.
When they arrived at the hospital, Condor immediately asked Dr. Athens about getting the blood tests done. He filled out the proper paperwork for them and sent them both down to the lab. No sooner was the test done than Condor shooed her off, telling her to go check on the southern club. He had already made arrangements with Anthony to pick him up, and Benny was coming over to spend the night with him. He said that he would give her a call later on and let her know how the tests went.
Aino made the long drive in thought, her mind locked on the sudden changes in him. It seemed impossible that he had gone from slightly sullen to exuberant over night. She pulled the car into a rest stop and dialed Benny. “Hey, have you spoken to Condor this morning?”
“Yes, he called while you were in the shower. He asked if I could come over and babysit him tonight because you were going to be down south. What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know. Last night he told me that he wanted me to go down south and not come back. We got into a fight and ended up making love. This morning he is a new man. It is not bad, it just bothers me. I can’t help wondering what I am missing that is wrong.”
“Nothing that I know of. He seemed fine on the phone.”
“Okay, maybe it is just me.”
“Are you all right?”
“Fine, just worried. I will have my phone on if you need me.”
She hung up, setting the phone back in the charging cradle. Aino pulled back onto the highway, unable to shake the feeling that something was wrong. She arrived at the club slightly after two and stepped out onto the jobsite. The exterior of the building had been finished and landscaped. The grounds were striking with an array of flowering plants, palms, and shrubbery. Multicolored brick pathways had been laid around circular spans of redwood chips or white stone. The contrast between the two different land covers was stunning. The wall around the outside of the grounds had been finished, a tall brick structure giving the occupants privacy if they chose to go for a walk or even have sex under the stars. She walked inside, gazing around in awe. The entryway had been done per her request with a high ceiling made to appear taller by reflective mirror tiles. A large crystal chandelier glowed above her, giving a good amount of light for the welcome person to check photos against real faces. Club policy was that a new photo had to be taken every two years to avoid misuse. As with the other clubs, there was a small door that led into a room where people could fill out their application and get information. A digital camera was kept in a small locking cabinet for taking photos.
Mark hurried up to her. “Aino! How are you? How is Condor?”
“I am fine. Condor is getting better. The outside of the club looks magnificent. Thank you. Will you give me a tour?”
“It would be my pleasure. You look good. You put on a little weight, and it suits you. You were too skinny.”
“That is what Condor kept telling me. I am still five pounds under what I should be, but...”
Mark led her around a corner and up a set of spiral stairs. “We ran into problems putting the addition on. The city said that it brought the building out too close to the property lines. We put the four rooms up here with soundproofing to keep any noise from flowing into the lower chambers.” He opened a door, showing her inside.
Aino grinned, her face lighting up as she looked around. Daniel had used one of her color schemes to do the room, and everything flowed with the illusion of moving yellow, orange, and red bubbles. “Wow! What an illusion this place is. It makes you feel as if the room is spinning. The bed looks like a carpet of grass, and so does the floor. The plants soften everything. They aren’t real, are they?”
“No, they are the top-of-the-line imitation. You wanted the room to appear as if you were outside at the park. I think it looks great. Do you want to try the machine? It is hooked up.”
She raised her eyebrows to look at him, and Mark laughed. “I just meant turn it on. We don’t have the dildos in stock yet. They are on order.”
Aino walked over, flipping the switch. The machine began with a low thrusting motion, and as she turned the switch it got faster. She examined the dual dials and turned the other one. A turn to the left made the machine hum as if the shaft were vibrating. She turned it right and the shaft which would hold the dildo began to rotate around in slow circle. “Oh shit. This is so cool. I want to see the other three rooms.”
Mark walked her down the hall, opening a door. The chamber was done in a pattern that made the walls appear to be marble slabs. The bed was cloaked in dark, blood-red velvet, the head and footboard looking like large gravestones. The floor was black tile, and the walls were decorated with large sconce lamps and metal chains. “I love it. Is this creepy or what?”
Mark laughed and took her across the hall. The third room had two machines, and the walls were done with pornographic wallpaper depicting illicit scenes of orgies, anal sex, dual sex, and homosexuality. The bed was covered in what appeared to bearskin, and the floor was a light gray to match the background of the wallpaper. Small benches had been set around the room as if for watchers to relax on. “Very suggestive, I like it. Next.”
The last chamber was done in soft blues, the color immediately relaxing. Stuffed animals were placed in cases covered with glass, and paintings of landscapes adorned the walls. The bed was chrome and lace, the canopy draped with fabric that could be taken down and washed if necessary. She took note of the folding room divider and walked over to it. A large sink was set into the wall, and she knew that in the other room another sink was opposite it. “This is a little too cutesy for me, but I am a dungeon queen, so. Is my office up here?”
Mark walked out into the hall and past the rooms they had explored. He showed her a viewing room, and she frowned. “If up here is to be private, then how can others come up to see the viewing room if they care to? Club rules allow them to check and make sure they are not being taped.”
“It doesn’t matter. The four machine chambers have special keys and require access approval to get in. Whoever is running the welcome desk needs to type in a code so the person with the key can use it.”
“Okay,” she said as Mark shut the door and walked across the hall. He used a key and then handed it to Aino.
“I have one key for now, and you have the other. Don’t lose it. This door automatically locks once it is shut. The key I have will be kept down in the safe at the welcome desk for emergencies. You have a surveillance camera set up at the door to see who is here before you open it. There is also a safety alarm button under your desk.” Mark flipped on the light, and she smiled. The room had been done with a light-lavender, rose-pattern wallpaper, but it was the only gentle thing visible. Her desk was black lacquer, and so was the furniture adorning the walls. A tall, wide fountain was flowing into a large, round marble base with brass rings set into the top and bottom. On the wall next to it hung a variety of shackling devices that could be fitted into the fountain to make it a living statue.
Aino laughed and turned, kissing Mark on the cheek. “What a statement that makes.”
“I saw it in an ordering magazine, and when I called Condor he said you would love it. You have your own private case with a complete display of torture instruments and fucking toys. That was the crew’s present to you. I think some of them were hoping you might come back and demonstrate for them.”
“Sorry, but no luck right now,” she said with a grin. Aino dropped down into the chair behind her desk.
“There is a remote set into a slide-out tray at your right. The large lacquer cabinet contains a central viewing screen that is connected to every computer in the building. You will find a list of what channels give you access to what. You have satellite if you get bored or outside computer access on channel seven. To the right is a refrigerator, microwave, and coffeepot. To the left is glassware, and your sink with inline water filter. The sofa I am sitting on has a very comfortable foldout bed inside.”
Aino looked at the list and hit the open button. The doors to the cabinet swung back, displaying a wide screen. She hit on and then four, watching as the scene came to life. It was a quick way to take a tour of all the rooms, and she checked each one, intrigued by some and simply pleased by the appearance of the others. The bar was almost finished, but it looked empty without tables and people. She clicked it off and spun the chair back to look at Mark. “Have you met Vince and Gene?”
“They have been by here a few times. Their office is at the end of the hall. An order has been put in to stock the bars, and it should be in within the next two weeks. As I said, the dildos and accessories of the rooms have been ordered, and some of them are here. We have interviewed over thirty people to work here and already have a hundred applicants waiting for the club to open. They have all been approved, and their cards are waiting for them. There are another forty-five or so that haven’t been completely run. That is not including the people who already have membership up north and live down here.”
Aino squinted, analyzing him. “You know an awful lot for a job foreman. Talk, Mark!”
He smiled, the expression wide and toothy like a lunatic doing something wicked. “Smart lady. I always knew you had it in you. I work for X-Dare corporation directly. I am job foreman, construction boss, and I also oversee ordering and make sure the club has a proper foundation to start. After I leave, you are on your own. Gene and Vince were okayed by me, after a suggestion from Benny. If you were here, I would have let you handle things, but you weren’t. I took over in the name of X-Dare with you in mind. I had a pretty good hold on what you wanted and what would make you happy. Did I succeed?”
“Admirably. So the shit about you being a member up north was a crock?”
“No, I live in Florida, and I am a member. I don’t pay dues, but when I am inside I am just like everyone else. Looking for sexual ha-ha’s.”
“Yeah, I remember those days. It seems like a long time ago,” she replied in a somewhat regretful tone. “So what happens now? When is the opening scheduled?”
“That is up to you. I figured you would want Condor to be back on his feet first. Applicants have been told that the club probably won’t open up for another month or month and a half. Invitations will be sent out once we set a date. What’s your call?”
“I will have to get back to you. Condor is at the hospital getting some tests run. Figuring an average of six to eight weeks for the breaks to heal, he should have the casts off in two to four weeks. I would go for the month-and-a-half mark. Do I ask you to have the invitations made up or handle it myself?”