Michaels, Skye - Calleigh's Collar [Le Club 1] (Siren Publishing Classic) (6 page)

Steele and Calleigh ordered from the extensive menu. The club boasted a five-star chef on staff and a full commercial kitchen. Phillippe Leclair, the chef lured away from a local country club at great expense, was a true artist, and dinner was superb.

The conversation was light, easy, and comfortable. They had more in common than she had thought, including a love of jazz and classic movies.

Over coffee, Steele said tentatively, “We have something rather unpleasant to discuss.”

She looked at him over her cup with an inquiring smile. This interlude was turning out to be much more pleasant than she had anticipated. “And what would that be, kind Sir?” She smiled. Her smile faded and became a look of horror as he explained about the vote of the members and the scheduled punishment.

“There is nothing I can do about it except ask you to trust me to handle this in the best way I can and to protect you as best I can. You are my sub, and no one else is going to touch you. Your alternative is to use the safe word and leave the club, but then you would be opening yourself up to legal action on the breach of contract issue. Also, remember that you signed another confidentiality agreement and release.”

“I can’t believe this. Is this the Middle Ages, and I’m a serf with no rights?”

“No, baby, but you have upset a lot of very powerful, extremely wealthy people who do not want to have their darker sides revealed. Nor do they want this club endangered. All the members have made substantial investments is this property and they feel vulnerable and betrayed in that you were paid very generously for your work—far and above the going rate—and were only asked for your discretion. I am not trying to excuse them for this, as I feel it is barbaric as well. I am just trying to explain the situation. We are dealing with a lot of Dom personalities here, some of them not that stable—among them a judge, a state senator, and various attorneys, doctors, and businessmen. When I asked you to come to lunch today, I had no idea this would happen. If I had, I would not have brought you onto club property or allowed this to come to their attention. I feel responsible for that. But you should know that I had every intention of punishing you for your actions, just not publicly.”

“I understand that I’ve caused a big problem here.” Calleigh sighed and looked away.

Jason continued, “Each member of Le Club has contributed an initial investment of a million dollars and pays annual membership fees which are calculated to cover the substantial operating expenses and salaries of the employees. Some of the employees participate in the activities at the club, and some don’t, but all have signed confidentiality agreements as well. However, all of the employees are extremely loyal and discreet due to their excellent working conditions and high salaries. Several different decorators were used to furnish the five bedroom suites and common rooms. The members took care of furnishing the theme rooms and Playroom themselves. All of the furnishings, fixtures, and specialized equipment were custom-made or purchased online.”

Oh my God. This is a nightmare. Do I go along and trust Steele or run like a rabbit? Should I stand up like a Valkyrie and take it? I realize I am not completely without fault in this situation. I just don’t know. I am scared to death
.

Despite the raging attraction Calleigh had felt for Jason over the many months they had worked together and the closeness brought on by their steamy sexual encounter, Calleigh still had doubts. She wanted to trust him, but this was a tremendous leap of faith, and she didn’t know if she could make that leap.

“Let’s finish our coffee, and then I’ll take you to the Playroom. We can discuss this further and make a decision tomorrow. I want you to see what goes on in the Playroom so it won’t frighten you tomorrow.”

Chapter Eleven

The Playroom was a revelation. Calleigh looked around, and her jaw dropped. She had never imagined that the building she had designed would be put to such a use.

The freestanding building located at the back of the estate was a BDSM playground. The outside had the look of a four-car garage that matched the residence. Inside was a two-story industrial space with blown insulation, skylights, exposed wiring and plumbing lines in the ceiling, and one long, mirrored wall. It contained all manner of strange equipment, padded tables and benches, chains hanging from the ceiling, and an “X” cross with restraints attached. There was a wall of whips, paddles, crops, straps, belts, cuffs, restraints, and other ominous instruments. She had no earthly idea how they were used. “I can’t believe my eyes,” she said. “Who would believe this?”

“It’s really not all that unusual. There are BDSM clubs all over the world. Most of them are more elaborate than this. Don’t forget, this one only caters to the needs of ten people and their guests, and the occasional member from an affiliated club in New Orleans or Key West. I personally rarely use this facility. I prefer the privacy of the various theme rooms and suites.”

There were several people milling about and using the various pieces of equipment. One woman was chained to the wall and was being beaten with a short-handled whip having several plaited strips. She was moaning in ecstasy as her Dom simultaneously finger-fucked her pussy. Another was bent over a spanking bench with her arms and legs restrained while her Dom applied a thick leather paddle to her backside. And the outfits! They were totally beyond the pale. One man wore black leather pants with no crotch and had an enormous hard-on. He was dragging along a young man on a dog leash wearing nothing but black leather straps crisscrossing around his body and over his erect penis.

“Good evening, John,” Steele said pleasantly to the Dom, ignoring the sub. “Not too busy in here tonight.”

“No, the big excitement is set for tomorrow night,” he replied, not realizing that Steele’s companion was tomorrow night’s big excitement. Calleigh paled and started to shake.

Steele put his arm around her shoulder and whispered, “Breathe. It will be okay.”

At that moment a woman entered the Playroom with two Dobermans and two subs on leashes, one a female and one a male. The woman was probably around fifty years old and wore a black leather bustier, black leather shorts, black fishnet stockings, black high-heeled boots, and carried a riding crop.
Actually, she looks pretty good for her age.
Her female sub wore a black leather bra with nothing at all on the bottom except red stripes on her ass. The male sub wore nothing but black ropes tied around his torso and also had the requisite red stripes. The dogs, however, were beautifully groomed and well behaved.

“Mistress Adrienne,” Steele acknowledged.

“Steele. Is this the little problem sub with the loose lips?” she inquired. “I am going to petition the Board to be the one to deliver her punishment tomorrow.” She grinned at Calleigh with a feral glint in her eye. “I think you are too emotionally involved to do her justice.”

“That is not going to happen, Adrienne. Calleigh is my sub, and as you know, I do not share or play well with others,” he replied with a steel-edged voice. “Believe me, I will topple this house of cards before I let you or anyone else touch her.”

Adrienne scowled. “Well, slave, I hope you learn your lesson tomorrow. If Steele has any balls, it should be interesting,” she said and started to walk away. Calleigh started toward her, but Steele restrained her. “Better not to say anything right now,” he counseled.

“Miserable old bitch. I know who she is. No wonder she’s in an uproar. Her position as grande dame of Ocala society would definitely be in jeopardy if her membership in this club got out. She should wear that outfit to the Denim and Diamonds Ball! I know she’s a force to be reckoned with, and she could definitely hurt my business if she put her mind to it, but her reputation could get tarnished as well.” Calleigh shuddered.

“Anne Sutton told me that Adrienne Vieira was the instigator of this punishment situation. I would bet my last dollar that she won’t back down. It’s unwise to cross her. She’s one of Ocala’s leading society matrons and known at the club to be a vicious Domme. She’s the very wealthy widow of a judge from an old and prominent Ocala family. Her home is one of the showpieces of the Historic District and is open to the public for the annual Ocala Home Tour. Adrienne wields a tremendous amount of power in the community, both socially and politically, and it would not be wise for either of us to ignore her. She’s the proverbial big frog in a small pond.”

“I wonder what the church ladies, bridge ladies, and charity auction ladies would think if they could see the sadistic old bitch now!”

“As you can see, you have stirred up a real hornet’s nest, and I don’t want to see you get stung. I am going to make some phone calls tomorrow and see if I can sway any of the members to change their votes. I only need to change two minds. If all else fails, I will deliver a light whipping that looks a lot worse than it is. I know how to pull my strokes, and I’m deadly accurate.”

“You have no idea how that relieves my mind,” Calleigh said sarcastically.

“Watch the ’tude, subbie. You are in this mess due to your own actions, not mine. Your butt is in my capable hands.”

Chapter Twelve

Saturday morning dawned clear and bright and found Calleigh, Paula, and Robbie at the pool. “Honey, Mike told me about what’s been going on, and I am so sorry you are in this pickle. I want you to know he voted against the punishment.”

Paula piped up, “This is ridiculous. I can’t believe this could happen here. Trent told me all about it last night. For Heaven’s sake, you hardly told me anything.” She continued with a frown, “On another subject, I have to say—I don’t know about Trent. He’s charming as all get out but emotionally distant, and I don’t think he really likes me.”

Robbie replied, “Trent? He’s a honey bear. I just adore him. You must be mistaken.”

“I don’t know, guys. We slept together, but he didn’t make love to me. He said I had to ‘earn my rewards.’ He had a hard-on the size of Texas this morning when I woke up, and I sort of rubbed my bottom against it before he knew I was awake, just to see what would happen, but he just bounced out of bed, hit the shower, and said he was going to work out. I think I’m the only one around here not getting any! I’m a slave in a sex club and frustrated as all get out! That’s just not right!”

“He must have a plan, dear. That does not sound like the studly doctor,” Robbie replied. “Speaking of studly, my crazy husband got frisky in the gazebo in the square last night—we got caught in the act by the cutest little elderly couple. She had no clue, but the old gent knew exactly what we were doing! He winked and tipped his hat! I thought I would die!” She giggled.

Calleigh returned to the question at hand. “Girls! I don’t know what to do. If I don’t go along, I will be in serious legal trouble. Steele said he wouldn’t let me really be hurt, but I’m scared. The only time I’ve ever been paddled is when we pledged the sorority freshman year, and I have a feeling this is a whole different animal. He’s making phone calls this morning to try to sway a couple more votes. I guess we will see.”

“You know,” Robbie said, “if you have to go through with this, you should treat it like a ‘scene,’ you know, camp it up and try to look like you enjoy it, wear a costume of some kind, maybe a schoolgirl uniform or something like that. That would really get their boxers in a bunch!”

“Boxers and panties,” Calleigh replied.

“I know. Mike said the driving force behind this whole madness is Adrienne Vieira. She has everyone else worked up. She’s a piece of work. I can tell you that. The things I have seen her do would curl your hair! Once I saw her paddle both of her subs and then make them have sex with each other!”

“She wants to be the one to ‘deliver my punishment.’ I’d really like to get my hands on her! See how she’d like a good old-fashioned butt whipping,” Calleigh exclaimed. “I’d like to help her discover her ‘submissive’ side!”

“Oh, that would be delicious!” Robbie exclaimed. “Let’s see, what could we do? I know, we could reserve the School Room and Principal’s Office and lure her there somehow, and then tie her up.”

“Wait a minute! You can’t be serious. I was just blowing off steam here,” Calleigh replied. “As much as I despise her, I don’t think I could actually participate in anything like that. I could never hurt or humiliate another person like that no matter how mad I was.”

Just then Steele came striding down the walkway to the pool. “I’m sorry, baby. I was only able to sway one vote, so it’s six to four in favor. Let’s go upstairs. We have to talk.”