A Natural Born Submissive (5 page)

"Yes," she said.  "And you got me.  I have been … studying this lifestyle for a while."  She looked at Victor.  "I don't really understand why it draws me.  I really am very independent."

He laughed. "I have news for you, my dear. Most submissives are very independent, and very strong.  It takes incredible strength to follow your desires, especially when they take you to a place that others consider dark or unorthodox.  It was a big step, seeking me out."  He smiled.  "Even if it was under the cover of doing a story on the club.  I'm quite likely the type of man your mother warned you about."

Alice stared at him, her heart pounding in her chest.  "What are you saying?"

"If you want this, Alice—if you want to learn, I will teach you.  I will take you on this journey.  Is that what you want—why you sought me out?

Alice sighed.  "I don't know what I want.  In a perfect world, I would be like … like Katt.  She's so self-assured, but I'm so uncertain.  And it's frustrating.  I'm a forty-five-year-old divorcee.  So why do I feel like an inexperienced adolescent?"

Victor took her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze.  "Tell me something, how old were you when you married?"

"I was nineteen.  We were married for twenty-five years.

"Marriage is not always a time of great personal growth," Victor pointed out.  "Being a wife and a mother can distract one from focusing on her inner self."  Tell me something; did you ever share what you'd read in those books with your husband?"

Alice flushed but finally spoke up.  "I tried to get my husband to do some of the things I'd read about.  He wasn't strong enough.  I longed for him to take charge," she confessed.  "Once, he tied my hands to the bedpost, but then nothing much happened.  It wasn't titillating at all, just frustrating.  To be honest, he didn't take it far enough.  I wanted …" Alice paused, lost in thought.

"I know what you wanted, Alice."

"How do you know?" Alice asked, her beautiful eyes staring at him.

"I'm a Dom; it's my job.  Few men know how to take charge and give their women what they truly need."

Alice looked up at Victor in wonder.  Did he really know how to fulfill her?

"What do you want, Alice?  Right now.  Tell me what it is."

"A kiss," was her instant response, and she colored deeply, surprised at her boldness.

"So charming," he said, cupping her chin as he watched her blush by the dim garden light.

Kissing was not something Victor usually did at the club, but Alice's sincerity had touched him deeply.  He pressed his lips against hers until she yielded and melted into him.  When she pulled away, she looked up at him shyly.  "I can't recall being kissed like that for a very long time, maybe ever."

He smiled down at her. He would not take things any further with her, not tonight.  He wanted to give Alice time to think, to be sure.  "Come Alice; it's getting late.  Tomorrow is a work day for you, is it not?"

He walked her back into the club where they found Katt who was getting ready to leave.  Victor bid them both a good evening.  "Until tomorrow, ladies," he said, but he was looking only at Alice as he spoke.

Katt eyed Alice suspiciously as they walked out to their cars. "So what happened between you two?"

"Nothing," Alice lied.  "We just talked."

Chapter Four

All day Saturday, Alice and Katt worked on putting together the segment for the show.  They decided that Katt would air the pre-taped interview along with footage shot at The Beaten Path. Then she would introduce Victor for the live portion of the segment and invite the audience to sent questions via email, Facebook or Twitter.

"Are you going to keep in touch with Victor after tonight?" Katt casually asked when they broke for dinner.

Alice looked at Katt.  Could she be honest?  If she couldn't talk to Katt about this, whom could she talk to?  "Honestly Katt, my head is spinning. I don't know what to do."

"You seemed attracted to each other, and Bella said he was a pretty good guy."

"He does seem like a good guy," Alice agreed.  "But he's in a whole different world from mine.  He's not just into BDSM; he's a master.  He thinks I'm drawn to it."  She looked at her friend hesitantly.  "But if I were really drawn to that sort of thing, don't you think I'd already be part of it by now?"

"No.  I believe that in life timing is everything.  You might be ready for something now that you weren't ready for ten or fifteen years ago."

"Really?"

"Absolutely," Katt replied.  "For example, back in high school I had a mad crush on a girl, but I was freaked out by the whole thing.  I didn't know what to do.  So I repressed my feelings and finished school, focused on my dancing, and moved in with my boyfriend Tim.  We were together for fifteen years.  After we broke up, I was finally ready to explore my sexuality."

"You seem so comfortable in your skin.  I can't believe you haven't always been gay."

"Well, I
have
always been gay," Katt laughed.  "Back in school, I thought that being called a lesbian was a putdown, so I lived the life everyone told me I should live instead of the life I wanted.  As I got more mature, I became less concerned about what others thought and more concerned with being who I was."

Alice considered this.  Katt had been brave and would not grow old trailing a string of regrets. She didn't want that, either.  On the other hand, she and Katt were very different.  Katt was far worldlier, but despite Alice's career, she'd allowed herself to remain sheltered in a lot of ways.

"Katt, tell me the truth—do you think I'm especially naïve?" Alice asked.

Katt grinned.  "Naïve?  No.  But there's an innocence about you, and that's a refreshing quality in such a jaded world.  I suspect Victor finds that quality attractive, too.  Don't lose it!"

"Well, if I enter Victor's world, I'm not sure how much longer I'll remain innocent," Alice pointed out.  "I like Victor.  I just wonder if there's any way to separate him from BDSM.

"Are you sure you want to separate him from that?  At least tonight you'll have a chance to interact with him away from that club."

"I know, I know.  But his predilections could be a very big part of what I'm attracted to," Alice admitted.  "I'm so confused.  After the divorce and fighting so hard for my independence, is it outrageous to think about getting into a relationship where I might lose ground?"

Katt thought about it for a minute, poking at her salad.  "I don't think that placing yourself in the hands of a Dom would be a sign of weakness but rather a sign of strength.  Does that make sense?"

"I have to admit that having to be the one in charge most of the time makes the idea of being able to give up control in one part of my life very appealing.  I don't have to tell you how Type A my job requires me to be," Alice admitted.

"No you don't, girl," Katt laughed.  Then she grew serious. "Tell me, does anything about the Dom/Sub scene appeal to you at all?"

Alice nodded.  "Some of it is a definite turn-on, but actually taking part in it, I just don't know."

"Well, keep me updated, okay?"

"Who else am I going to tell?  Mom?" Alice laughed.  "Honestly, Katt, if I didn't have you to talk to, I think I'd go crazy."

The women finished dinner and worked until it was time for the show.  Victor arrived right on time, looking surprisingly modern in a suit and tie.  As he sat on the set chatting with Katt, Alice studied him.  He looked out of place dressed that way; somehow the leather and the old-fashioned clothing she'd seen him in up until now had better suited him.

Katt was asking Victor why he'd opened the club.  Alice was curious about that too and leaned forward in her off-stage chair to hear his response.

"The BDSM world is one that is very close to my heart," Victor explained.  "I could not function without being a Dom.  Knowing that others feel as I do, I wanted to create a space that was a safe place to play.

"A safe place?" Katt asked.

"Yes, there is great potential for abuse in the world of dominants and submissives.  People who engage in this lifestyle should learn how to do it safely, and any time there is an exchange of power, there's the issue of consent.  At our club, all submissives are required to have a safeword, and all dominants are expected to honor them.

"Safewords?" Katt prompted.

Yes, a word that both participants agree on before play commences.  If play gets too overwhelming or painful for the submissive partner, all he or she needs do is to say that word, and the play stops.  At the club, our patrons use the word 'red'."

The two continued to chat until the commercial break, when Alice handed Katt some of the questions that had come in.  Victor stood to stretch his legs and came over to Alice.  She'd only had a chance to greet him briefly.  Now he took her hand in his, his eyes crinkling with warmth.

"You are looking especially lovely tonight, my dear."

"So do you," Alice said and then cringed.  She'd just told the most masculine man she'd ever met that he was looking lovely.  He didn't appear to take offense though.  He smiled and patted her hand and then returned to take his seat.

Katt laughed at some of the questions that had come in and showed them to Victor.  Alice gave the signal when the cameras were rolling again, and the interview resumed.  Katt peppered him with audience questions:  was the club invitation only?  Did Victor feel that online BDSM flirtations set an unrealistic expectation for the real thing?  One viewer asked whether he found BDSM degrading to women.  Victor calmly replied that if women wanted to be submissive, then that was as valid a choice as any other, and besides, there were quite a few male submissives.

When she show ended, Alice congratulated him on how well he'd represented the BDSM lifestyle, and Victor thanked both Katt and Alice for offering a fair, even-handed look at the subject.  As they were wrapping up, he asked Alice if she'd care to accompany him out for a drink.

"Sure," she said, delightfully surprised.  The insecure part of her had had worried that Victor's interest in her would end with the show.  "That would be great."

They took his car, a black BMW, and soon he was pulling into the drive of The Beaten Path.  The club was in full swing.  Alice was dismayed; she was dressed in business attire, not for the club.  But instead of going into the parking lot, Victor drove around the back towards the opposite wing of the mansion.  He held the car door open for Alice; she enjoyed the rare show of civility.  It had been a long time since anyone had made her feel that feminine.

As he unlocked the door on the private wing of the mansion, he said, "This is where I live, Alice.  If you are at all uncomfortable, we can go somewhere public."

Alice thought about the advice she'd given her own daughters:  never go to someone's house on a first date.  But was this a date?  It was just a drink, and besides, there was something about Victor that made her feel safe.  Perhaps it was his chivalrous manner.

"No, this is fine," she heard herself say as she entered his house and followed him to a sitting room.  As Victor excused himself to go get them each a glass of wine, Alice took in the surroundings. The room was very nice and very masculine, like Victor himself.  The walls were dark, and the antique furniture looked genuine.  The overstuffed sofa she sat on was warm and inviting.  There were no signs of his lifestyle here—no wall of implements or furnishings designed for punishment.  Alice felt somehow relieved by this; she'd not been quite sure what to expect, but it all looked very normal.

Victor reentered the room, carrying the wine.  He'd shed his suit jacket and removed his tie.  He looked handsome and relaxed as he handed her the glass and raised his for a toast.

"To Alice, a woman I hope to get to know very well."

Alice smiled and clinked her glass with his and then took a sip.  The wine was a chilled dark red; as it sat in her mouth it warmed and the flavor came alive.  She'd never tasted anything like it and suspected that it must be very expensive.  She took a few sips and then set the glass down.

"Victor, may I ask you a personal question?"

"Of course, my dear.  That's why we are here, is it not?"

"Yes, I guess it is.  At the club, I've noticed that you are either called Master V or Sir.  Is the distinction just for play?"

"It's a term of respect," he said.  "To my friends and acquaintances, I am Victor. At the club, where I am Master, I am Master V.  To the subs, I am 'Sir.'  He paused.  "Especially to a sub I am training."

"Oh," she said, feeling the color rising to her cheeks.  She imagined being under his control, calling him 'Sir', and felt a flush of wetness between her legs.  She looked up at him, glad that he could not read her mind.  Or could he?  Victor was studying her intently.  She quickly changed the subject. "Your home is lovely.  It looks quite old.  Was it like this when you bought it?"

"Oh no," he said.  "It was in a terrible state of disrepair.  I had to renovate for two years before opening the club.  I just finished renovating my living quarters last year.  But it's been worth it.  I like places with a sense of history.  I like old-fashioned charm, old-fashioned customs.  Don't you, Alice?"

"Yes," she said.  "It's like a step back in time here."

"It is," he replied.  "And the pace of the club is so frenetic sometimes.  This is my sanctuary from public life."

"Thank you for trusting me enough to show it to me."

Victor looked pleased with her appreciation of his home.  He asked Alice where she lived, and she told him a bit about her childhood home, and how she'd come to live in Las Vegas.  She shared that she was recently divorced and had twin girls off to their first year of college.

"Where were you born?" she asked.

"In a small village in Luxembourg."  Victor opened up and told her he'd been born to a French father and a Spanish mother.  Alice learned that Victor had enjoyed a very privileged upbringing, having been educated at prestigious schools and universities in Europe.  At one point, he casually mentioned having inherited an "inconsequential title," but did not elaborate.