by Diane Leyne
“So, have you ever heard of Club Libertine?”
Rebecca found herself taken aback for a moment at the abrupt change of direction. She’d heard the name, she was sure of it. And then it came to her.
“Yes. Yes I have. I read about the book launch there. McClain, Dr. Joshua McClain?”
Michelle nodded approvingly. “That’s right. Dr. Joshua McClain launched his recent best seller there.”
“Yes, Dr. McClain was a best seller, but it was also controversial. There was something about the book launch…” Rebecca found herself blushing as she remembered more. “Club Libertine. That’s a BDSM club, isn’t it?” Now the connections were firing. “CL Enterprises. Club Libertine Enterprises? This resort, is it a BDSM resort?”
“That’s right. How do you feel about that?”
“I’m not sure. I considered a number of possibilities when I got the confidentiality agreement, but not that.”
“First, let me assure you that this resort is fully above board. It is not a brothel. It is, in fact, partially owned by Mac Whelan if that makes you feel better. That’s why we are in this building. And why I, a lawyer for Whelan Corp., do the screening.” She paused, but Rebecca just gestured for her to continue.
“The Club itself will be managed by Duncan Rider and Andie Cooper. They are also a couple in the lifestyle. Duncan is in charge of day-to-day operations, and Andie looks after the finances.
“The job you are interviewing for is in the Fitness and Training Department, not as a sex worker if you have any concerns along that line. We take good care of our staff, and you will have no worries about being forced into any situation that you don’t feel comfortable with. And should any customer make you feel at all uncomfortable, our security staff will deal them with summarily. If it is staff you have problems with, and I sincerely hope that would not be the case since I personally screened all of the department heads and many of the staff, then you can go to Duncan or Andie. They won’t tolerate any abuse of power unless, of course, that turns you on and is entirely consensual.” She grinned. “Just because you will be staff doesn’t mean you won’t get to play.”
Rebecca smiled back at her and then took a deep breath. “Fair enough. So what is it you’d be wanting me to do?”
“We are a small resort, so all of our staff have to fulfill multiple roles. We need someone to assist our Fitness Master in running our fitness facility, teach some classes, particularly yoga and Pilates, do some personal training, and assist the Training Master with his educational demonstrations.”
“The fitness portion sounds perfect, but I’m not sure how I could help with training and education. I don’t know anything about BDSM, and I’m not sure I’d be able to help educate anyone.”
“You wouldn’t be expected to do the actual training.” Michelle hesitated, seeming to choose her next words carefully. “The Training Master will be teaching various classes. He will need an assistant to demonstrate on.”
“I think I need more information, Michelle.”
“Don’t worry, Rebecca. You would not be required to participate in any sexual demonstrations unless you choose to. And there will be no pressure of any kind to do so. Please call me personally if you ever felt pressured to do something you didn’t feel comfortable with, and Mac will deal with the offender. You would also not be expected to be naked during any of the demonstrations, although there are times that being topless would be greatly appreciated. Again, you should not feel pressured. You should always feel free to keep on your bikini top and thong. Any questions?”
“Well, I now understand what you meant by not having the right background. I have no experience in BDSM other than having read Dr. McClain’s book.”
“You did? Why?”
“Yes, he’s a noted academic. I was curious as to what all the fuss was about.”
“And were you shocked? Or maybe you found yourself intrigued by the subject matter?”
“Shocked, intrigued, amused by all of the fuss after I read it. The title is extremely provocative, but the book itself was very well written, informative, and not salacious in any way. It’s not for me, but after reading the book, I feel I have a pretty good perspective on the topic and can understand why some folks live that lifestyle.”
“Fair enough. Would it shock you to be around people deeply immersed in it? While many people, shall we say, dabble in BDSM, there are others who live it twenty-four hours a day, three hundred and sixty-five days a year. However, we expect when folks come to Libertine Island, the majority of people will take the opportunity to be fully immersed in a way they can’t necessarily be out in the real world, which means frequent nudity for the subs or slaves and probably a lot of public sex. Could you deal with seeing couples having sex on the beach or taking your yoga class in the nude? Would you be comfortable being nude or partially nude while working?”
“If I saw a couple having sex on the beach, I’d probably have some water and sunscreen sent over when they were finished. As for nudity during yoga…I guess you aren’t aware of the latest California trend, naked yoga. I haven’t taught it, but I have taken a couple of classes, so no, it won’t shock me. As for my being nude…it wouldn’t be my first choice, but I’ve been to a nude beach before. When everyone else is nude, too, it’s actually pretty liberating.”
“Excellent. Well, if you want the job, it’s yours. Because you are new to this, we can offer you a three-month contract up front with an optional nine-month extension. You’ll go through a two-week intensive training period. During that time, either you or your trainers can decide that this isn’t for you. You’ll get paid for that time, and we’ll pay for you to come home, no hard feelings. If you pass the training and want to stay, we’d be pleased to have you. You are new to resort work, and while I’m sure you’ll do fine, you may decide it’s not for you. All we ask if that you let us know at the two-month mark that you plan not to take the optional extension so that we have time to get a replacement. And remember, the nine-month extension will be one hundred percent your decision.
“If you accept this offer, you’ll depart on September 1st, flying via Atlanta and St. Maarten where you’ll spend the night. Libertine Island doesn’t have its own airstrip. You’ll be picked up by boat the next day for the thirty-minute trip.
“You’ll have your own private room in the staff quarters. I’d recommend you try to limit yourself to two suitcases. And don’t worry about the sunscreen. We’ll have sunscreen dispensers fully stocked and set up all over the resort and will be available to everyone, visitor and staff. We are all about safety. There will also be condoms and lubricant available everywhere so people can be, er, spontaneous, and that does include staff that are off duty. Unlike regular organizations, we have no issues with staff getting involved, since they will be away from home for a year, but we do expect people to be grown up about it. If a couple forms and breaks up, they have to remember that they still need to be able to work together. We don’t want to have to hire a replacement every time a couple has a fight.”
“Fair enough,” agreed Rebecca.
“Likewise, you should feel free to play with the visitors if that appeals to you, but you should also feel free to say no and not be bothered by horny guests. We actually plan to have a wristband policy to deal with this, but we are still working out the kinks, so to speak.”
Rebecca laughed. She liked Michelle, although she made all of this sex and kink sound so normal and actually pretty appealing. Rebecca had broken up with her cheating boyfriend five years ago. Other than a couple of fleeting relationships, her only source of orgasms had been her battery-operated boyfriend. And once her thesis was done, she’d be working in the staid world of academia, which wasn’t exactly known for its studly members.
As long as she had Internet access, she could work on her thesis anywhere. Maybe this job was just what she needed. A year of fun, sun, and hot, kinky sex. And decades from now when she would be standing in front of a class of unruly students tryin
g to force some knowledge into their brains, and her students dismiss her as a dried-up old maid, she would have some smoking-hot memories to distract her.
“If you find you need anything and we don’t have it at the resort, you can get it in St. Maarten on your day off. I have a contract here and am prepared to offer you the position if you are interested. You will have three days to look it over and perhaps show it to your lawyer before I need to have the executed contact back so I can make the appropriate arrangements.
“Now, do you have any questions?”
“Just one. What’s the Internet like on the island?”
Chapter Two
“God damn it, Michelle. You did not just hire me a vanilla assistant! Her entire knowledge of BDSM comes from Joshua’s book?” Malcolm Reynolds yelled into the speakerphone while he raked a hand through his long, dark hair. Michael just grinned at his older brother’s agitation. Mal wasn’t just a Dom. He was a control freak about just about everything. Michael was a Dom as well, but far more laid-back when he wasn’t in a scene.
“I knew I should have come out there and done the interviewing myself. What happened to that other one? The sub that used to perform for Cirque du Soleil?”
“Her Dom collared her and forbade her from taking the job. I told you that already. Trust me. You’ll like Rebecca. She’s a former gymnast and a yoga instructor. She’s extremely flexible and very good at what she does according to the individuals we interviewed. We even sent a Dom out to take a few training sessions with her. He thinks she’s got some submissive tendencies, but that she had a backbone. She won’t let herself be taken advantage of by any unruly Doms.”
“But she’s vanilla. Why does she want to spend a year at a BDSM resort if she isn’t in the lifestyle?”
“She’s finishing up her PhD and is working on her thesis. She wants a job with room, board, and a fast Internet connection.”
“French Literature?” asked Michael.
“How the hell do you know what she’s studying?” asked Mal.
“Lucky guess?”
“You’re up to something! Do you know her?” Mal glared at his brother.
“Well, I might have helped Michelle check her out. You’re not the only one to have reservations about hiring a vanilla.”
“I take it you don’t have any reservations anymore?”
“Hardly,” Michelle interjected. “He practically ordered me to hire her. He went all Dom on me.” She chuckled. “Are you forgetting I live with Mac and Sean? He should have known the Dom attitude wouldn’t work with me when it comes to business.”
“Yet you hired her.” Mal’s voice was flat and cold.
“Yes I did. But not until I met with her. She’s smart and funny, and I think she’ll do a fine job or I wouldn’t have hired her. And her education is an advantage. Most of the candidates I interviewed couldn’t string three words into a sentence. Not many well-educated women want to commit to a year away from home.”
“What does it matter how well educated she is?” countered Mal. “She’s coming her to teach yoga and Pilates, maybe do a little private training and help me demo BDSM techniques. I don’t think they teach those skills in university. No one’s going to care if she can hold forth on middle twentieth-century Flemish novels or whatever the hell she specializes in. All they care about is that they feel like they’ve gotten a good workout or learned something. How’s a PhD going to help with this?”
“It’s French literature, not old books. And she also speaks passable French. It’s always an advantage to have bilingual staff.” replied Michelle, not sounding the least ruffled by Mal’s bad temper. “There aren’t many well-paying jobs in that field. However, I’ve had her thoroughly checked out. She’s an excellent fitness instructor and is extremely flexible and good with difficult clients. Her flight arrives in a couple of hours, and I expect one or both of you to present yourselves at the Sonesta Maho tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. to take her back with you to the island. And you will not, I repeat, not, chase her off, unless you want to start the season demonstrating rope techniques and the proper use of nipple clamps on your brother.”
Michelle hung up without waiting for an answer, causing Michael to smile and then quickly hide it as Mal glared at him.
“Don’t worry, Mal. I have to go into St. Maarten to pick up some stuff I had shipped from Seattle. I can pick up Rebecca at the same time. Now I have to run and check out the progress the contractors are making on the gym. I’ll leave you to your paperwork.” Michael hurried out of his brother’s office. When he first came back from checking Rebecca out, he couldn’t stop talking about her until Mal ordered him to either shut up about her or track her down and fuck her, as long as he stopped talking about her.
But as far as he was concerned, Rebecca was just about perfect. She was beautiful with long, curly red hair. As a former competitive gymnast, she was petite yet strong with abs that all of her students, male and female, envied and made his cock hard. He loved fit women. She was also extremely flexible, giving a demonstration one day that had the whole gym oohing and aahing. It made him imagine her body wrapped around his, and he found himself jerking off to the fantasy on a regular basis.
She was also smart, which he knew would attract his brother just as much as her smoking-hot body would once he got past the whole vanilla thing. She was beautiful and kind and an amazing instructor. He’d studied yoga before, so he could tell that not only did she know what she was doing, but also she knew how to teach it. And she’d been able to challenge him physically, which was not easy since he was also a fitness trainer as well as a Dom.
Of course, she wasn’t in the lifestyle, but the fact that she had come to work at a BDSM resort showed she wasn’t adverse to it. He hadn’t been sure she would take the job, but he suspected she might. She had struck him as a strong person who wouldn’t back down from a challenge.
And she’d told him about needing a job for a year while she worked on her thesis. He got the feeling she didn’t tell him the whole story, but he was a virtual stranger at the time and her training client. Soon she would be his sub whether she knew it or not. And if Mal really wasn’t interested, well, then, he’d keep her for his own.
But Mike knew deep down inside that once Mal met her, he’d melt like an ice cream cone left out in the sun. The woman he’d met back in San Francisco was a strong, confident woman that hopefully meant she could be a strong, confident sub for the two of them. The last thing they wanted was a doormat. Submission was even sweeter when it was a challenge to earn.
In short, she was perfect, both for the club and for him and Mal. They’d always shared women, but usually the relationships were short lived because they never felt that they found the “one.” The sex had never been the problem, but they wanted different things from a woman outside of the bedroom. He was pretty sure that Rebecca would satisfy both of them. She was the one. He could feel it in his bones.
He just had two obstacles to overcome, Mal and Rebecca.
* * * *
The plane came in so low over the water that Rebecca started to get worried. She was in an aisle seat, so she couldn’t see the land until they’d almost touched down. She wasn’t normally a nervous flyer, but that was a heck of a landing! By the time they’d taxied to the terminal, her heart rate and breathing were almost back to normal, and she could admit to herself that some of her nerves were related to the new job, not just the landing. Was she really going to do it? Have a year of no-holds-barred, no-commitment sexual freedom? Of course, she was going to work in a BDSM resort, so that sexual freedom might come with bondage and spankings. Would she like that? She wished she could discuss it with her best friends. Was she crazy? In fact, the hardest thing about living on the coast was not seeing her friends as often as she would like and get together to talk about life and love and sex and men. She still talked to them on the phone regularly and chatted online, but it wasn't the same thing.
The four of them had been friends since they were kid
s, but she hadn’t seen a lot of them in the last few years. The other three were still based in Chicago even if they did a lot of traveling. Maggie was a photographer who was in demand all over the world, and Aly was a journalist who’d just come home from a year doing an in-depth piece of Doctors Without Borders in various hot spots around the world. She was back in Chicago turning her series of articles, which were almost a shoo-in for a Pulitzer, into a full-length book. Of the three, Aly was probably her best friend, if she had to choose.
Rebecca, herself, had left Chicago five years ago to go to school in San Francisco. She went back East when she could, but it wasn’t often. That left Jen as the stay-at-home. Jen was a partner in a big-time law firm. She’d been the biggest free spirit when they’d been younger, and she was the one who had traveled the least and settled down to the most conventional life, although Rebecca did have her suspicions. She was pretty sure Jen had some secrets even her best friends weren't privy too. Of course, Rebecca couldn't judge. Her own life would be pretty conventional once she started teaching, so, damn it, she was going to cut loose.
She smiled when she remembered the time when she'd told them about the hot new yoga client she had, Mike, who had trained with her for a few weeks recently. He was a bit younger than her and absurdly hot. He was also very sweet. She found it hard to describe him to her friends. He was unbelievably hot with a killer body, but he had none of the macho posturing that many men who looked like him had. He wasn’t arrogant, although he was extremely confident. He was direct and was not at all embarrassed about how the tight yoga clothes he wore outlined his very impressive cock. He was also not arrogant about it either.
She found herself being slightly jealous when the other women in the class and one of the men also seemed to notice his hotness and she liked him all the more when he was equally charming to everyone from seventy year old Mrs. Chen, to young Gerald who had developed a serious crush on him, to the two forty-something women who he gave the brush off to in such a kind way that they were convinced that they had turned him down.
