Black Light: Exposed (Black Light Series Book 2)

by Jennifer Bene

  Maxine made a show out of pretend zipping her mouth and then turning an imaginary key before tossing it over her left shoulder and then returning her arms into their defensive crossed position.

  Spencer glared at her for a few long seconds before turning his attention to Jaxson at the other end of the long table. He didn’t bother getting up to move closer to the other occupants in the room, instead electing to remain removed as he often did.

  “You’re really gonna put up with her shit?” he challenged Jaxson.

  For some reason, Spencer’s aggression bothered him more than Maxine’s. “She’s no more of a prima donna than you are. You both can be a pain in my ass, but I hired each of you because you are experienced and the best. So the answer to your question is, yes. Yes, I’m putting up with her shit because she’s right. While Black Light is a secret, as the manager of Runway, Maxine has the right to know what is going on below her club.” He paused, turning to pin Maxine with a threatening glare. “But she better keep in mind that what she is about to hear is one-hundred percent confidential. It is not to be discussed with anyone outside of this room. Not her hairdresser, the other employees... not even her husband. She’s a smart lady. I don’t need to remind her of the NDA she signed when she took the job.”

  Keeping her mouth closed tightly, she nodded her agreement to Jaxson’s warning.

  Spencer didn’t like it, but he proceeded. “Fine. We’ve wasted enough time. If she loses her shit over this, it’s not on me.”

  “Duly noted,” Jaxson reassured him. “Continue. What have you and the guys cooked up for Valentine’s Day?”

  “Hold on.” Spencer pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and punched in what looked like a short text message. Within ten seconds, the door to the office opened and four men in leather pants and black T-shirts shuffled in. They halted briefly at the sight of Maxine in the room, but recovered quickly, taking the seats around the table recently vacated by the managers of the Runway teams.

  Jaxson saw Maxine’s eyes fill with surprise, but to her credit, she held her tongue.

  Spencer opened the plain manila folder in front of him, taking the top sheet out, and began to fill them in. “We’ve come up with an excellent idea that’s going to get the place packed on Valentine’s night. We’re going to setup a mixer game of Valentine Roulette.”

  The dungeon master paused dramatically giving the occupants of the room time to assimilate what he’d said.

  Chase stood and pulled out the chair next to Jaxson at the table, taking a seat as he questioned Spencer. “Roulette. As in Russian Roulette?”

  Blake looked at him, annoyance in his eyes. “Yeah, we’re gonna off the participants until the last man is standing. Nothing like killing participants to drive up membership.”

  The newest men in the room broke into snickers at Chase’s expense, which annoyed Jaxson.

  “Explain. Now.” He knew how to talk to Spencer. The snickers ended abruptly.

  “We’ll have a private sign-up period starting next week. Dominant and submissive club members will be able to read the rules and decide if they want to sign up and consent on-line in advance. The night of the party they will be randomly paired up to scene with one person. They won’t know who they will play with in advance and they can’t refuse their play partner without using their safeword which will disqualify them.”

  Jaxson was intrigued, but he had a lot of questions. “So, how do they get paired up?”

  “We’ll have two large roulette wheels, just like in a casino only the first one will have the names of the submissives on it. The Doms will draw numbers to see who goes first and one by one, they will go up and take their chances spinning the wheel. They play with whomever the wheel names and then we take her name off the wheel and the next guy spins. Rinse and repeat until they are all paired up.”

  Chase interrupted. “So, is it just a singles night?”

  “Not at all. If couples want to play, they can, but they are committing to most likely playing with other partners. Couples not wanting to play will be spectators... voyeurs... We’ll have small cocktail tables setup throughout the club and we’ll serve top-end champagne and appetizers. We’ll sell tickets over and above membership fees as a special event since the club is normally closed on Tuesdays.”

  Jaxson suspected he knew what the other roulette wheel was for. “And the second wheel? They spin for their scene?”

  Owen, the dungeon’s Master Shibarist answered him. “Exactly. Each participant will be allowed to put three things from the wheel on their hard limit list when they sign up. If they roll something on either of their hard limit list, they can spin again. If not, they have to play the scene they roll for a minimum of thirty minutes before they can take their chances by spinning again.”

  Chase asked, “How many activities are on the wheel?”

  “We brainstormed over twenty activities so far. I think we could come up with a few more ideas, too,” Owen replied.

  “What kind of stuff are we talking about here?” Jaxson pressed, curious.

  Spencer picked up the top piece of paper from the open manila folder and started reading the list. “Bondage, Anal Play, Pet Play, Water Sports, Electrical Play, Suspension, Whipping Post, Medical Play, High Protocol, Pain Play, Humiliation, Water/Tub, Sybian-Orgasm Torture, Latex Encasement, Fire Play, Age Play, Oral Sex, Breath Play, Blood Play, and Needle Play. We also decided we could put several role-play options on for things like principal/naughty student, royalty, law enforcement. We’ve accumulated a pretty extensive wardrobe for scenes already and will continue to add to the costume options over time. We could even throw a Dom’s choice role-play in there for fun; like a wild card.”

  Maxine fidgeted in the chair next to him. He suspected she might be regretting promising to remain silent.

  Jaxson’s cock was expanding in his jeans at the mental image of the sexy scenes that could play out on Valentine’s night. He had to admit, the plan was appealing for several reasons.

  “I like it. We’ve wanted to introduce more of a variety of activities and try to get the current members to come out of their shell a bit. This could help with that, but some of those activities are heavy duty. What if we get a novice Dom who has to do a complex fetish like Blood Play or Suspension? If they fuck it up, it could go south quickly.”

  Spencer reassured him, “That’s the greatest part of the plan. Between my four dungeon monitors, and me, we have all of those activities covered. We’ll each be assigned stations that we will monitor, but also act as a trainer for Doms who are learning new activities. Safety first.”

  Jaxson nodded, relieved they had a plan to keep the submissives safe.

  Chase challenged Spencer next. “This seems pretty risky for both the Doms and the subs who participate. What incentive is there to get people to sign up?”

  “The prize at the end of the night will be one month’s dues free for anyone who finishes the night and who played by the rules. Then the monitors and I can give out extra comp days or weeks for extra good scenes, and we’ll choose one couple to award the grand prize of two months free membership.”

  Jaxson wasn’t too crazy about that. “That’s a lot of free membership cash to be giving away.”

  “We plan on maxing out at fifteen couples, and don’t forget, I’m sure some of them will drop out when it gets too intense for them. And we’ll more than make up for it by selling the VIP tickets for the observers that night. I think what’s most important is that we continue to distinguish ourselves as the premium BDSM club on the east coast. Black Light is not only secure and confidential, but also focused on providing safe, sane, and consensual play. We’ll be offering training for Doms and subs both.”

  Garrett, one of the most hardcore Doms of the group spoke up next. “Don’t forget, I’m also an EMT. I’ll come prepared in case anything gets out of hand with the needle or fire play.”

  “Well, you’d better make damn sure nothing gets out of control. It’s great we a
re prepared for an emergency, but we can’t put subs in danger intentionally.”

  Spencer spoke up, out of patience. “I’m counting on the sign up process to weed out anyone who isn’t going to be able to handle it.”

  Chase challenged him, “And why is that?”

  “Because, it will be a legal document that will scare away anyone not fully committed.”

  Up until now, Emma had been sitting quietly through both meetings, but Jaxson heard the quaver in her voice when she spoke up softly to question the plan. “So if I were to sign up, I could only say no to three of those things? What if I wanted to say no to more than three?”

  Jaxson turned and could see the fear in her eyes. He rushed to help her relax. “You don’t have anything to worry about, sweetheart. We’ll be observers that night. I have zero desire to play with anyone other than you and Chase, angel.”

  Visible relief passed across her face before she pressed forward with another question. “And what about sex? Are they expected to have sex with their partner who will most likely be a stranger to them?”

  Garrett answered her and Jaxson was relieved to hear the respect in his voice as he recognized he was talking to the boss’s submissive. “Intercourse will be one of the things on the list that they can put on their hard list, but if they refuse to have sex then that will leave only two other picks for their limit list.”

  Emma glanced his way and Jax could see concern in her beautiful violet eyes. “What is it, sweetheart?”

  “I don’t think that’s enough options for hard limits. There are a lot of scary things on that list.”

  Jaxson gave her a reassuring nod. He trusted her instincts. “You heard the lady, gentlemen. We bump the hard list choices from three to four.”

  “Now, wait a minute. We’re gonna be spinning all night long because there are so many free passes,” Spencer grumbled, careful not to direct his anger directly at Emma.

  Jaxson closed the discussion. “There will be four options for submissives to put on their hard limits. Next topic.”

  Chase thought of the next controversial question. “What happens if a male Dom gets paired with a male submissive and they don’t bend that way?” As the only switch in the room, Chase had a unique view into the D/s dynamics at play with an event like this.

  Jaxson wasn’t thrilled to see the surprise on Spencer’s face. It told him the others in the room hadn’t considered this obstacle, which annoyed him. Just because his employees were strictly male dominants who topped female submissives didn’t mean there weren’t many other D/s combinations. Jaxson, Chase and Emma were proof of that.

  Spencer reluctantly answered, “I don’t think we have a large enough membership pool yet to offer anything other than male on female options this year. Maybe by next year, assuming this is a success, we can be more inclusive during the sign up process and try to accommodate our gay and bisexual members, as well as our female Dommes and male submissives.”

  “I agree with you for this year, but let’s make it more inclusive going forward.”

  Spencer nodded his agreement.

  Jaxson glanced at Maxine who was still sitting silently at the table. He had to stifle his grin as he realized she was turning beet red in her attempt at holding her silence. She looked as if a rant was literally bubbling up, ready to spew from her mouth at any moment.

  Moving to a more tactical discussion, Jaxson spoke, “So talk to me about the legalities. This obviously goes over and above our normal contract for membership. What are we doing to protect ourselves from lawsuits when one of the participants isn’t happy with the way things turn out for them on the wheel?”

  Owen answered, “We had the same law firm you used to buy the building and do all of the contracting for Runway and Black Light write up the contract for participants. As they also wrote up the membership agreement for Black Light, we figured they were setup for this as well.”

  “Yeah, good thinking. How much is that gonna cost us?” Jaxson hadn’t been thrilled with the bill they’d got from Lambert, Urbanski and Reed’s law firm their last go-round. They’d luckily been able to work out a discount membership, and a set of free months, for the partners of the firm to reduce the billable hours.

  Spencer grinned. “They did it pro-bono. I just had to offer Alexander a free pass to participate.”

  “Excellent.”

  Maxine shifted in her seat, sitting bolt upright as she took her feet from the chair next to her. She looked as if she were about to spring out of her chair. Jaxson couldn’t hide his grin any longer.

  “Would you like to be excused now, Maxine?” he prodded.

  She hesitated, unsure if she was allowed to speak to respond. He was being an ass since he knew Maxine didn’t have a single ounce of submissiveness in her body, but he just couldn’t resist. “You may speak.”

  Her eyes flashed angry at his condescending approval. “Let me get this straight. You barbarians are running a sex club beneath my Runway?”

  Spencer looked like he wanted to throttle her, but Jaxson waved him off before responding. “We are running an exclusive BDSM club beneath my Runway.” He stopped and looked at Chase and rephrased. “Correction. My, Chase, and Emma’s Runway. Yes, there is sex involved, but it is way more complicated than that.”

  “Listen, I’m no prude, but I’m not entirely sure I’m comfortable with this,” she objected.

  “Which part? The sex or the BDSM part?”

  “All of it. Particularly the fact that young women are going to be used and possibly abused for men’s satisfaction.”

  Jaxson leaned forward, placing his hands on the table and leaning closer to her to make sure he was getting his point across as he answered her as best he could. “Emma,” he didn’t take his eyes off Maxine as he waited for his lover to answer from behind him.

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Have you been to Black Light?”

  “Of course. Many times.”

  “Have you ever seen anyone, man or woman, being abused against their will?”

  “No, sir.”

  “As my submissive, have you ever felt abused by our lifestyle?”

  He could hear the humor in her voice as she answered. “Abused? Goodness, no. More like pampered and loved.”

  “Even when you’ve been punished?”

  She hesitated before answering this question. He suspected she didn’t care admitting it, but he knew her answer was the truth. “Especially when I’ve been punished.”

  “Good girl,” Jaxson praised.

  “Good girl? Seriously? She’s not a fucking puppy!” Maxine’s anger was bubbling up.

  “That’s enough. We asked you to leave. You insisted on staying. You said you could handle it.”

  “That was before I knew what was going on,” she countered. “I’m not sure I can deal with this.”

  Jaxson pressed her hard. “Then I’m sorry to see you go. Accept it, or I’ll be expecting your resignation before you leave today.”

  Her eyes widened at his threat. He prayed she’d back down. He really didn’t want to lose her. She was a damn fine manager for Runway, but he also knew he wouldn’t put up with her giving them shit for their lifestyle or running Black Light.

  An awkward silence hung in the air as he and the bossy woman in the room squared off. He could see indecision flitting through her eyes as she weighed her options. He was a bit surprised when Emma came into his peripheral view, coming to sit in the chair next to Maxine, recently vacated by her propped up feet.

  “It really is okay, Maxine. I remember not understanding the whole lifestyle at all when I met Jaxson and Chase. It confused me too. After all, I’d been raised to be a Type-A career woman. I never would have dreamed I’d enjoy being a sexual submissive, but honestly, I’ve never been happier. I’ve met so many submissives in the club and I can assure you, everything that I’ve seen has been consensual. It may not be for you, but please don’t quit over this. We need you and you’re great at your job.”

>   Jaxson could have kissed Emma. She was saying exactly what needed to be said, and with a credibility that only a woman could pull off in this situation.

  Maxine glanced back up at Jaxson and hesitated only a few seconds before giving her answer. “Fine. As long as you all keep it private, I’ll back off. I’m not sure I understand it all, but it’s none of my business.”

  Spencer couldn’t contain his response. “That’s what I said in the beginning.”

  She glared at him and then went to work. “So, who do you have designing the website sign-up for the event?”

  Spencer glanced at his four employees for support, but all five men got a deer in the headlights look on their face.

  Maxine continued on. “That’s what I thought. I assume you have a food and beverage operation down there? Where are you getting your liquor? Are you doing any product ordering that we could combine with Runway to get volume discounts? How about your scheduling, memberships, accounting?”

  The more tactical things Maxine rattled off, the more sheepish the Master of the Dungeon looked. Jaxson had to hide a new grin – this time at his friend’s expense. He was enjoying Spencer being schooled by the real outlet manager in the room.

  “Maxine, you bring up excellent points. I’m sure there are some scales of economy we could gain by combining some of the resources between the two clubs.” He paused to pin Spencer with a glare. “You are an excellent Master Dom, Spencer, but you don’t know shit about running a club. Effective immediately, I’d like you two to work together on the non-BDSM components of Black Light.”

  “You have to be shitting me. You want me to work with her? You told me Black Light was all mine to run.”

  “And it is. You have complete creative control over the BDSM components, but Maxine can help with the F&B and purchasing. Let her help you with the website setup for the event. Keep in mind, it has to be 100% confidential and have a login/password setup to protect identities.”

  Maxine did her best to ignore the grumbling at the other end of the table as she turned back to Jaxson. “I understand the need for confidentiality, but I’d like to let Noah in on the secret. He does all of our ordering of supplies and liquor. Trying to add anything to orders without him knowing will be impossible, and I’ve put him in charge of inventory control.”