Out of Oblivion (2 page)

Chapter
2

I pushed the offensive sheet of paper away with no intention of signing it. I wouldn't be here long enough for it to matter. Alexis had already signed hers and handed it to Dominic.

"Do you have any questions?" he asked her.

Alexis beamed at him. "No, I'm good."

"Well, have a good time. The dungeon monitors are wearing red armbands in case you need one."

"Thanks," Alexis said and headed toward the bench, which was now occupied by another girl and a man holding an odd looking whip with several leather strands hanging from it.

The look of wonder on my friend's face worried me. I was used to her quirky behavior, but I got the impression she had finally lost her mind. The man glanced at her as she sat on a nearby sofa to watch, but then he shifted his gaze and our eyes met. I shivered. He looked normal enough, but something about him gave me the creeps. It may have been the way he scrutinized at me as if he was measuring me up for something. When he released me from his scrutiny and glanced at Alexis again, I suddenly felt protective towards her, but he didn't seem interested in her. Soon his attention was back on the girl he was whipping.

I turned away and handed the paper back to Dominic.

"You can't stay if you won't sign," he said.

"I'm only here to keep an eye on my friend until Jason gets here. I have no interest in participating. When he gets here, I'll grab a cab home. In the meantime, would it be okay if I waited here at the bar?"

Dominic grinned as he set the list of rules aside. "You're welcome to wait upstairs in the living room. I get the feeling you'd be more comfortable up there. Would you like to watch a movie?"

I glanced at Alexis, reluctant to leave her alone. In the same moment, creepy guy regarded me again sending a chill up my spine. Thankfully, this time his gaze didn't linger. Dominic frowned, but I couldn't tell if Alexis or creepy guy was the recipient.

"I'll keep an eye on your friend. No one will do anything to her she doesn't want. We have three dungeon monitors this evening, plus myself, and we're all friends. She's in good hands," he assured me.

Not that I had any reason to—I didn't know Dominic at all—but I believed him. "Okay," I said and followed him up the steps.

He led me to the kitchen, which was more than twice the size of my entire dorm room. It shared a wall with the living room, which held a fireplace accessible from both rooms. He opened the pantry and pulled out a small bag, peeling the plastic cover off. Then he placed it in the microwave.

"Can't watch a movie without popcorn." A boyish grin lit his face.

I melted. Popcorn was not what was on my mind at that moment. Get a grip girl, I told myself. The last thing I needed was to embarrass myself by doing something stupid. Besides, he was into that stuff down there, so he wasn't someone I needed to get mixed up with anyway.

"Your house is beautiful," I said.

"Thanks." He grabbed a glass from the cupboard. "Would you like soda, water or juice?"

"Do you have Coke?" I asked.

"Coke it is. It's not my house though."

"Oh." If it wasn't his house, why was he rummaging around the owner's kitchen?

Dominic laughed when he saw my expression. "It's my brother's house. I'm living here while I get my business started."

Well, that was a relief. "Oh? What kind of business?"

"I'm a web designer." The huge boyish grin plastered his face again.

"Cool. So where's your brother then? Is he into that stuff too?"

"Yeah, he is." Dominic chuckled. "He's a neurosurgeon and was called into the hospital for an emergency. So he asked me to host the party for him."

I felt hopeful. "Oh, so you're not into this then?"

"I am. It's sort of a family thing, I guess you can say."

"Oh." My heart sank. I wasn't the type to fall for a guy—not even a cute guy—right after meeting him, but there was something about Dominic that called to me. Why was the first guy I was attracted to into weird sex games?

"If you're not into BDSM how did your friend end up talking you into coming to a play party?" he asked.

"She didn't exactly explain what the party was about. She told me it was a party, and she didn't want to go alone."

Dominic went from being relaxed to hard and the expression seemed to age him a few years. I suddenly felt compelled to defend Alexis.

"I'm glad though. Now that I know what's going on here, I don't think it would have been a good idea for her to come here alone."

"That's understandable, but she should have been honest with you. We limit the people we invite here for a reason. My brother's career could be ruined if it became public knowledge he was into this lifestyle."

I hadn't thought about that. It explained the rule about discretion though. "I won't say anything to anyone. I promise."

Dominic expression softened. "I didn't think you would."

My curiosity got the better me. "Why do people like doing that stuff?"

"Why do some people like roller coasters and others don't?" He shrugged. "Everyone is wired differently."

"So it's like an adrenaline rush kind of thing?"

"For some, I suppose."

"But not for you?"

He watched me for a moment as if trying to decide how to answer, or whether he should. "I'm not into the play side of things. I'm more into the Dominance and submission."

"I have no idea what that means."

Dominic grinned. "I like to be in charge."

"Oh." Well he definitely wasn't for me. I had no desire to have a man bossing me around all the time.

When the popcorn finished, he poured it into a bowl and carried it and my drink to the living room. A huge screen took up half of one wall, and the adjacent wall was one huge built-in shelving system filled with nothing but movies and Xbox games. A cream colored sectional leather sofa occupied the middle of the room, facing the screen.

"Go pick out a movie, and I'll show you how the machine works," Dominic told me, setting the popcorn and drink on the coffee table.

There was too much to choose from, so I grabbed the first one that drew my attention and handed it to him.

"10 Things I Hate About You," he said, reading the cover.

I shrugged. "It's one of my favorite movies."

"Mine too." He winked.

I smiled, feeling my face heat up suddenly. Jeez. What was wrong with me?

His brother's setup was a little complicated, but Dominic arranged it so the DVR was playing. "It's as simple as switching discs now. Here's the remote. If you have any problems, come and get me. Oh, and help yourself to drink refills and whatever else you want."

"Thanks," I said, then settled in to watch the movie. This was, without a doubt, better than being in the basement.

*****

Alexis and Jason interrupted the move with their giggling as they entered the living room, heading towards the stairs to the second floor.

"Oh. Hey, Haleigh," Jason said.

I waved. "Where are you two off to?"

"All the private rooms are full downstairs so we're using Brant's playroom upstairs?" Alexis told me.

"I thought only known couples were allowed?"

Jason grinned. "Benefits of being family. Besides we're official now. I just needed to know she was okay with my lifestyle choices."

"Well, congrats."

"Thanks," they said together, which started Alexis giggling again.

I sighed as they headed up the stairs. This would be a long night. I could have called and taxi and went home, but I was reluctant to leave her. Jason was a nice guy, but Alexis had a bad habit of rushing into things without thinking them through. I wasn't sure she understood what she was getting herself into here. To be honest, I wasn't sure either. That could have been what made me so scared for her.

When the movie ended, I got up to put in another. Someone came into the living room as I was slipping the DVD into the player. I thought it was Dominic coming to check on me, but when I turned, creepy guy was standing there watching me with a smirk on his face. I suddenly had the urge to slap him.

"May I suggest
The Secretary
? It's quite educational," he said

"I think Star Wars will be fine," I said, attempting to sound polite.

I sat on the sofa, keeping my eyes on the screen and hoping he would go away. I wasn't that lucky. He sat on the sofa closer than was comfortable, and my skin crawled.

"I need a break from playing," he said. "A movie would be a nice change. I'm Kurt McCray, by the way."

I ignored him again, hoping he'd get the hint.

"The polite thing to do when someone introduces themselves is to introduce yourself back to them."

He sounded almost angry, so I decided it would be best to placate him. The last thing I needed was for some weird stranger to freak out on me.

"Haleigh," I said, inching away from him without taking my eyes from the screen.

"That's a beautiful name."

"Thanks." I sighed. He wasn't getting the hint.

"So why are you hiding up here instead of having fun downstairs?" Kurt asked.

"I'm not interested in all that stuff. I'm here so my friend wouldn't be alone."

"The little blond I saw you with?"

"Her name is Alexis, and yes."

Either he was inching closer again, or it was my imagination. I moved again, hard against the arm of the chair. The only way I'd get away from him now was to move to another seat or leave the room all together.

"Aren't you the slightest bit curious? If you have questions, I'd be happy to answer them."

I folded my arms across my chest. "No, I'm really not interested."

"There's nothing to be afraid or ashamed of. Society places so much negativity on anything sexual, but when people let go and be themselves, it can be blissful. BDSM is all about sexual freedom."

I closed my eyes and bit my lip. Why couldn't he leave me alone? "I have no hang-ups about sex. I'm just not interested in all that other stuff."

"What stuff specifically?"

"The spanking and the weird medieval torture stuff."

Kurt laughed. "There's nothing weird about it. All that 'stuff' as you say, enhances sexual pleasure. How do you know you don't like it if you're not even willing to try it?"

"I don't need to try it to know I'm not into it." This guy was beginning to annoy me. I glanced over my shoulder, hoping to see Dominic there.

"Did you ever refused food based on what it looked or smelled like?"

I shrugged. "Yeah."

"Did you ever try it later and find you liked it?"

"Once or twice."

"Don't you think it's better to at least give it a taste before deciding you don't like it? If you try it and don't like it, you don't have to have it again. But if you like it, you won't miss out on something wonderful."

I could see where he was heading with this. Wasn't he breaking the rules of the party by trying to coerce me into this? "This is not the same thing."

"It is. I think the real reason you don't want to at least try it is because you're afraid."

I pressed my lips together to stop myself from telling him off and didn't speak until I calmed myself. "What could I possibly be afraid of?"

"The vulnerability you experience when submitting to someone is scary. That's what's making you unwilling to try."

Was this guy for real? "Or it could be possible I'm not interested, and I'd like to change the subject."

Kurt held his hands up in a placating manner. "I was only making conversation. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. In my experience, every woman I met who had reservations about BDSM ended up enjoying it once they tried it. But perhaps you're different. So what kind of movies do you like besides Star Wars?"

"I like a lot of things," I said, letting myself relax a little. "Comedy, romance, action, sci-fi and especially Disney movies. Those are some of my favorites. As long as it has a good story, I will like it."

"Do you enjoy reading as well, or only movies?"

"I love to read. I read about four to six books a month on average. It depends on my workload at school."

Kurt folded his arms in front of him and leaned back in the chair, looking eerily triumphant. "What are you studying?"

"Graphic design, although I'm not sure if I'll stick with it."

"Why?" he asked.

"I'm a decent enough artist, but graphic design isn't what I expected. I'm not as good at it as I thought I would be, so I'm considering focusing on my art."

"I would love to see your work."

I smiled. Once he got off the subject of BDSM, he didn't seem so bad, and few people showed interest in my art. Not even Alexis. She wasn't into art. It would be kind of nice to show it to someone.

"So what about you?"