Page 6 of Going Deep (Odyssey #3)

She was glad she was already sitting, because Jesus , that smile. “ Thank you.”

He nodded toward the scene area. “ You enjoyed the flogging?”

Her eyes darted to the stage. The Dom had untied his submissive and was cuddling her in a fuzzy-looking blanket on the floor. He was stroking the woman’s hair, murmuring softly, holding her close. After the intensity of the scene, it struck her as beautifully, achingly sweet.

She looked back at Michael . “ Yes .”

His lips curved again, as though pleased with her honesty. “ Did you see anything else this evening that you found intriguing?”

“Oh, well. We haven’t really seen much else.” She glanced around the large room. The tiny brunette and her submissive were gone, and the suspension scene was now a pile of rope on the floor. The violet wand was still crackling, but a lot of the spectators had wandered away.

“Would you like to see more?”

She glanced around. “ I thought this was the play area.”

“It is,” he told her. “ The second floor play area. There’s another space for play on the third floor.”

Ginger frowned, trying to remember the rules of the club. “ I thought that was off limits tonight.”

“It’s off limits to new players,” he confirmed. “ But members can bring a guest to observe.”

“Oh.”

“Would you like to go with me?”

“Yes,” she said immediately and started to stand.

But Michael laid a hand on her knee, holding her in place, his gaze on Simon . “ Is that all right with you?”

“If it’s what Ginger wants,” Simon said simply. He stood, tugging Lola to her feet. “ We’ll wait downstairs for you, Ginger .”

Ginger smiled at him in thanks, then met Lola’s eyes. I’m fine , she mouthed, and got a subtle nod in return.

Grant and Anna rose to follow Simon and Lola out, Anna shooting her a thumbs up behind Grant’s back that had her stifling a giggle. And then they were alone.

Amusement shone in his green eyes as he rose to his feet and held out a hand. “ Well , then. Shall we?”

Before she could let herself think about it too much, she slipped her hand into his and rose from the chair. Standing in front of him, she realized her heels gave her enough height to put her eyes level with his mouth. His sensual, wicked mouth.

Oh, balls.

His eyes twinkled with humor, giving her the uncomfortable feeling that he could read her mind, then he squeezed her hand and turned to lead her to a narrow set of spiral stairs.

“These are the back stairs,” he explained, keeping her hand tucked firmly into his as he climbed. “ The main stairs are on the other side of the club.”

“Why two sets?” she asked.

“These are original to the building, and I liked them so much I couldn’t bear to tear them down. But the play on the third floor can get intense, and it’s not uncommon for someone to need to be carried down. So we added another, wider staircase, and an elevator.”

“Oh.” Carried down?

“Relax,” he said, a laugh lurking under the words. “ No one’s died yet.”

“How reassuring,” she muttered.

His chuckle was rich and appreciative. “ Come on, let’s see what’s going on.”

He pulled her up the last stairs and into another open space.

There was no one there, but bright lights illuminated the various scene areas.

There was another cross like the one downstairs, and an area on the wall that held shackles at various heights.

A sawhorse type thing with leather padding sat next to a wooden chair with the middle portion of the seat cut out of it.

She frowned at it. “ What? —”

He glanced at the chair, then at her face. “ A submissive can sit, yet still have all the tender bits available for play.”

“Well, that’s handy,” she said, eyes wide.

“Yes, it is,” he said, amused, and walked on.

Other pieces of equipment stood at various points throughout the room, and she realized how crowded the space would be if all the equipment was in play. Lots of people, she realized, all of them watching. Or being watched.

The twin sensations of desire and unease made her shiver.

He tugged her along to the end of the room, and they entered a short hallway lined with doors and windows.

“These are private rooms,” he explained. “ Theme rooms.”

“Themes?” she echoed.

“Some people like fantasy play, so these rooms are set up for that. There’s a medical room set up as an old-fashioned surgical suite, complete with an observation gallery.

One of the rooms is set up like a Victorian parlor, another like a woodland clearing.

There are beds in some of them, equipment that matches the theme in others. ”

Ginger lifted a hand to point. “ What are the windows for?”

“Well, they’re private rooms in the sense that no one else can come in once they’re in use. But the windows are there for viewing.”

“Viewing?”

“Observing,” he explained, watching her face. “ Some people enjoy being watched, others enjoy watching.”

“Can…” She wet her lips. “ Can they close the curtains or something if they don’t want to be observed?”

“They can,” he replied, “but all the rooms are monitored, either in person or electronically, by a dungeon monitor.” He nodded to the end of the hall, where a man sat at a small desk in front of a wall lined with monitors.

“Oh.” She swallowed. “ So , if the curtains are closed…”

“Then someone watches the monitor for that room. If the curtains are left open, then the monitor simply watches from the hall.”

She frowned. “ Do you have a monitor for every room?”

He shook his head. “ Usually one or two monitors is sufficient to take care of this area, and none of the rooms are soundproofed. Even with the curtains shut, anyone in the hall can hear if a safeword is used.”

“Safeword,” she repeated. “ That’s a word that is used to stop a scene, right?”

“Right. We use the stoplight system here in the club, though people often choose a word that works for them personally beyond that.”

“The stoplight system?”

“Green, yellow and red. Green means go—everything is fine, no problems. Yellow is pause—it won’t stop a scene completely, but it means the bottom or submissive is having trouble and needs to be checked on. Red is stop—and when it’s used, everything stops immediately.”

That made sense. “ I like that there’s a pause button.”

“Sometimes a submissive just needs reassurance, or a moment to regroup, before continuing.”

A low moan came from one of the rooms, making her eyes widen. He inclined his head toward the windows. “ Shall we see what’s going on?”

She nodded, nerves jumping as she followed him down the hallway to a wide window. The curtains were open, showing the occupants clearly, and she caught her breath.

“This is the swing room,” he murmured, shifting to stand behind her. His hands rested lightly on her shoulders. “ You can see why.”

Yes, she could see why. In the center of the room, hanging from the ceiling, a series of black leather straps hung from a gleaming hook in the ceiling. A sex swing, and it was occupied.

A lushly curved woman with gleaming ebony skin sat in the sling, the straps positioned to hold her almost upright.

Leather wrapped around each thigh, around her torso below her breasts, and ran up her back.

The thigh straps held her legs wide apart, and kneeling between them was an olive-skinned, dark-haired man.

Ginger caught her breath as she realized he was going down on her, and another low moan echoed as the woman jerked in the sling. Her hands were clenched on the straps above her, and Ginger realized her wrists were cuffed as well.

Unable to move in the swing, unable to use her hands, she had nowhere to go while the man in front of her did whatever he wanted.

Wow. Ginger drew in a shaky breath, her nipples tightening under the silky fabric of her top, and her thighs clenched together in an unconscious effort to ease the sudden ache between them.

Her earlier arousal, somewhat faded on the walk through, came roaring back, and she bit back a moan of her own.

Michael’s hands slid down her arms in a gentle caress that brought goosebumps to her skin. “ What do you think?”

“I think—” Her voice broke on a squeak as the woman arched back and let out a keening wail, thighs quivering, breasts shimmying as she came.

Ginger swallowed as the man rose to his feet, his lips and chin glistening with the evidence of his partner’s orgasm.

“ I think she’s having a very good night. ”

Michael chuckled, his breath stirring the hair at her temple. “ And about to get better,” he murmured, and turned her slightly. “ Take a look.”

Ginger let out a gasp when she saw the other man in the room. Blonde and white, he was naked, his fist wrapped around his long, thick cock, already sheathed in a condom, as he approached the duo at the swing.

“What’s he doing?” she whispered.

“Shhh.” He tightened his hands on her shoulders, stepping closer so his chest pressed lightly against her back. “ Don’t worry, he was invited.”

And welcome, she realized when the woman twisted her head to greet the newcomer with a kiss. He palmed her breasts, pinching the hardened peaks so she jerked in the swing while the first man stepped away to pick up a condom and a small tube from a bag on the floor.

Ginger watched, transfixed, as the blond man stepped in front of the woman and grabbed a control box attached to the swing.

He pressed a button and the sling began to rise, the winch pulling it higher and higher until her open thighs cradled the man’s hips.

He released the button and the winch stopped, the woman swinging gently in the air.

The man lifted her right thigh and made an adjustment to the straps so that it held her leg up in the new position, then did the same with her left.

Her knees were bent back almost to her breasts, her pussy open and easily accessible, and before Ginger could process that, the man stepped between the woman’s open thighs and drove his cock into her in one sure stroke.