Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 93751 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 469(@200wpm)___ 375(@250wpm)___ 313(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93751 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 469(@200wpm)___ 375(@250wpm)___ 313(@300wpm)
Hannah wasn’t entirely sure how she felt about that. The Garden BDSM club used the universal safeword red for all its patrons, which made sense, like a red stop sign. Everything she’d gleaned from the internet and her limited experience in the BDSM scene told her a safeword was essential, no matter how well you knew and trusted your Dom.
She’d even picked out her own safeword, if and when she ever had the opportunity to be in a position to need one. She’d chosen a variation of red for herself—rose—which was also a silent nod to her pen name, Angelique Rose.
Not wanting to question the wisdom of her hosts, however, she didn’t bring up her concerns. Instead, she asked, “How long has this place been around?”
“Let’s see.” Lucia looked up at the ceiling as she pondered. “It’s been five years now. At first, it was just Anthony and Brandon with a concept. They both have pretty deep pockets. They spent the first year or so getting the place fitted out to accommodate a dungeon and slave quarters, along with suites on the second floor for permanent residents and occasional guests. Then they set about finding like-minded people who wanted to join them.”
“You mentioned earlier you and Anthony had both been widowed? If it’s not too personal, how long have the two of you been together, and how did you meet?”
Lucia smiled, though her eyes were suddenly sad. “I lost my husband a little over four years ago now. It was sudden—a heart attack. Miguel owned a construction company and he’d actually done quite a bit of work for Anthony when they were remodeling this place. They were already friends because both were very active in the Asheville BDSM community.”
Lucia shifted on the sofa, taking one of the pillows and hugging it to her chest. “We came as a couple to The Enclave for some of the training programs they ran during their first year. That’s when I first met Master Anthony. When Miguel suddenly passed away, Master Anthony was a huge help to me in handling the estate. He also let me come to stay at The Enclave while I got myself sorted.”
She shook her head, smiling. “I basically never left. I help Master Mason in the kitchen at mealtimes, and I also assist in training and grooming the slaves who come through the program. It wasn’t until last year that Master Anthony and I finally admitted what everyone else around here apparently already knew.” She gave a small laugh. “We were in love.”
“Gosh, that’s so romantic,” Hannah said, wondering if she herself would ever fall in love again. She was about to ask more about The Enclave when Anthony appeared at the door. He carried a tray with two mugs and a plate of some kind of pastry.
“Peppermint tea and blueberry scones for my girls,” he said, setting down the tray on the coffee table.
Hannah leaned forward, checking out the treats. “Those look yummy.” Though scones were not Hannah’s first choice for carb binging—usually too dry for her taste—these looked especially good.
“Mason is almost as good a baker as he is a chef, which is saying a lot,” Anthony said with a smile. “These are Lucia’s favorite.” Leaning over, he gave Lucia a quick kiss and then looked at Hannah. “Charlotte and Jim are still playing in the dungeon. You’ll be okay here for a while?”
“Sure, thanks,” Hannah said, perfectly content to stay put.
After he’d gone, both women took a mug of steaming tea and a scone. Hannah bit into hers. Her eyes fluttered closed with pleasure as the moist, lemony cake and fresh blueberries filled her mouth.
“Whoa,” she enthused between bites. “I’m not much of a scone person, but this is the best scone I’ve ever had in my life.”
“Right?” Lucia agreed. “I could live on these.”
They ate and sipped their tea in companionable silence. Then Lucia said, “Enough about The Enclave. Tell me about your experience tonight, Hannah. I got kind of, uh, distracted during the session so I wasn’t paying a whole lot of attention to your scene. Though,” she added with a smile and a lift of her brows, “I did notice you were having a pretty intense time there at the end.”
“Uh, yeah, you could say that,” Hannah said dryly, though she, too, was smiling.
“Was the flogging what you’d expected?”
“The flogging was great,” Hannah said, her skin tingling at the memory. “I absolutely loved that part. There was a while there where it was almost too much, and then it just…wasn’t anymore. It’s hard to explain.”
“No explanation necessary,” Lucia assured her. “We speak the same erotic language. From what I’ve learned from my own experience and in working with the submissives here, we don’t experience erotic pain the same way vanilla folks do. It hurts, sure. But it’s a welcome pain—a necessary pain. I think of it as a completion of a circuit. It’s a craving that’s sometimes indistinguishable from necessity.”