Kenzie’s brows shot up for a moment, and then she burst out laughing. “Jesus, you look like you’re going to pass out.” She reached out and grabbed Chloe’s hand. “You’re fine here with us. No one is going to steal you away to do wicked things to you.” With her smile still in place, she released Chloe’s hand and rose. “I’ll grab us some drinks. Wine okay?”
Chloe nodded, unamused. She’d never thought of herself as pure, but she was beginning to see what Sawyer meant. In his world, she was practically a virgin. She looked at Porter. “If Sawyer isn’t into edge play, I take it you’re not, either?”
Porter shook his head. “Edge play isn’t part of our club and it’s not why I’m in the lifestyle. But others here do what we do, so I thought that’s what you’d like to see.” He gestured across the room. “See that scene going on over there?”
Chloe followed his gaze, spotting a tall, hefty man flogging a thin blond woman. Each time the flogger hit flesh, the man smoothed his hand over where he’d hit. Chloe exhaled a long breath; this she could handle. In fact, the longer she watched, the more curious she became. “It appears more erotic.”
“Precisely. It’s about a connection and building endorphins.” Porter paused as Kenzie returned with one beer and two glasses of wine. “Thanks, darling,” he said to Kenzie before adding to Chloe, “People in the BDSM lifestyle will have their own personal desires and fetishes. It so happens that those in our club prefer the D/s relationship mixed with a softer form of BDSM.”
Chloe watched the man flogging the woman’s body, turning it a deep shade of red. She surmised that if a man wanted a flogging to be painful, it could be, but this woman wasn’t flinching in pain. In fact, she swirled her hips with each hit. Addressing Kenzie, Chloe asked, “How much does that hurt?”
“For me, that would tickle and probably annoy me.” Kenzie grinned.
Porter chuckled.
With growing curiosity, Chloe examined the flogging again. She’d never thought about partaking in BDSM. She supposed she didn’t understand it. If she loved someone, she guessed she’d do it. But as she watched the man whack the woman’s bottom, she couldn’t see herself in that position. And, if she were being honest with herself, none of this aroused her.
On the contrary, she’d never been drier.
She heard sensual moans and slaps of skin against skin, and she wasn’t turned on. Not even a bit. No tingles between her thighs. No heat on her face. Nothing. And as the man stopped flogging the woman and began fucking her instead, Chloe’s blood ran cold.
Sawyer hadn’t been wrong—she was too innocent. She’d never allow a man, any man, to fuck her in front of others.
Suddenly she realized how ridiculous she must look. Wearing a short black shirt and tight blouse showing only a little cleavage, she didn’t fit in. Her palms grew sweaty and her fingers tightened around her wineglass.
To her left, a woman dropped to her knees, while a man held her head and pumped his cock in between her lips, using her mouth for his enjoyment. Yes, this was all consensual, but it wasn’t Chloe.
I can’t be this woman. Not for Sawyer. Not for anyone.
Her heart thumped as she scanned the room, feeling as though a spotlight were shining on her. Did everyone here know she was an outsider? The room started to feel smaller and the noises sounded louder. Her attention drifted back to the man thrusting inside the woman who’d been flogged. The woman screamed her pleasure, but Chloe knew she didn’t want anyone else to hear her moans. Those noises belonged to the man she loved, only and always for him. The room seemed to spin around her. She picked up her wineglass and downed half of its contents.
When she lowered her glass, Porter asked, “Are you all right, Chloe?”
She glanced from Porter to Kenzie, who both were watching her closely. “I…”
Porter frowned, then rose. “Not comfortable here. Let’s go.”
Chloe stood up, but her mind spun with questions.
What does this mean for Sawyer and me?
She couldn’t be this woman for him.
Should I end things with him?
As the man pounding into the woman began grunting with his orgasm, Chloe’s heart raced. I need to get out of here. I have to think. She gulped, needing the air to be fresher. Turning on her heel, she strode toward the door…and that’s when she ran into a brick wall.
A wall that happened to have strong arms and smelled a lot like Sawyer.
—
Sawyer had spent years training to control his emotions. He possessed the ability to slow his heartbeat in tense situations. But now? His training vanished as an upset and confused Chloe pressed herself against him. Yes, she’d accidentally walked into him, but within a second she realized who held her, and she sagged against him in relief. Anger burned through him, even if he was unsure whom to be angry at. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close.
It took only a few seconds for her to straighten up and stand firmer, but those seconds mattered. To him. And to her.
Well aware that Porter and Kenzie were watching them, he tucked a finger under Chloe’s chin. Her eyes, reflecting insecurity—an emotion he’d never seen from her before—stole the air from his lungs. “Are you okay?”
“Yes.” She looked down. “Yes. I’m fine.”