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The club. Black Rose Underground.

My haven.

So much more to share with her.

“What else is there at the club?” she asks, her voice coming out nearly breathless.

“Oh, Skye, there’s so much more. You’ve only been to the bondage room.”

She gulps. “What other rooms are there?”

“Some rooms are for light play only.”

“Light play?”

“Yes. Basic spanking, light bondage. For example, how I bound your wrists with my necktie at my office.”

“What’s bondage, then? Is it light play?”

“Bondage, other than light bondage, is heavy play. What you saw at the club is considered heavy play.”

“Especially the neck binding, right?”

“In my opinion, anything involving the neck is edge play.”

“What’s edge play?” she asks.

“Anything that involves a risk of physical or mental harm.”

“Mental harm?”

“Yeah. I steer clear of edge play, for the most part. It doesn’t interest me much. Most of it isn’t allowed at Black Rose Underground.”

“But I saw the breath control.”

“Not everyone considers breath control edge play, so I allow it, but all practitioners have to sign a special consent form before they can do it at my club.”

“I see. And I didn’t sign that form.”

“You didn’t, but it doesn’t matter. I wasn’t going to do it anyway.”

“Your hard limit.”

“Yes,” I say.

“What else is considered edge play?”

“Anything that draws blood.”

She gasps. “People actually do that?”

I nod. “Knife play, gun play, fire play. I don’t allow any of that.”

“Gun play? Fire play? People do that?”

I nod.

“Is that another hard limit for you?”

“I’ve already told you that I only have one hard limit, Skye.”

She nods.

She may still be intrigued by breath play, but she understands more about herself. And she’s accepted that it’s off-limits—at least with me.

“What other kind of heavy play is there at the club?”

“There’s suspension play. Flogging and caning. Animal fetishes.”

She drops her jaw. “You mean sex with animals?”

I laugh. “Of course not. Some people like to be led around like they’re animals. Horse play. Dog play. Things like that.”

She widens her eyes. “People do that? To each his own, I guess.”

“I take it you don’t want to try that.”

“Hard pass on that one.”

“Not a problem. It’s all up to you, Skye.”

“Do you…like that kind of play?”

“It’s not one of my favorites, but I’m not averse to it if it interests you.”

“It doesn’t.”

“Fair enough. There’s sensory deprivation. I’ve introduced you to that already on a minor scale. There’s also LARPing.”

“What’s LARPing?”

“Live Action Role Playing. It’s huge in the gaming community. The club takes it to a sexual level.”

“Meaning…”

“Like Superman having sex with Wonder Woman. Stuff like that. Sci-fi is big. Sex with aliens. That kind of thing.”

“So you have a room where…”

“Where you can watch people engaging in alien sex? Yeah. Except they’re not real aliens, of course. Some of the costuming is pretty elaborate, though.”

Her jaw drops again. “Oh. My. God.”

“I told you before that clothing is a fetish for some. So is costuming.”

“But not for you.”

“No. I prefer to be myself when I play. I’m Braden Black and no one else.”

“Good, because Braden Black is who I want to have sex with.”

“Anything sound intriguing to you?”

“What kind of things do you see in the LARPing room?”

I shake my head. “I’m not sure you’d believe me if I told you.”

“Can I see it?”

“Sure. The next time we go to the club. What else interests you?”

“Not LARPing. I’m just curious how that works, but I don’t want to do it myself. I prefer to be with you. As me.”

“Fine with me. Anything else?”

“Whatever you want,” she says. “I’ll do whatever you want.”