LOGINI am not surprised at his vague answer. He's never been open about his personal life in all the time I've known him.
“How does it work, with getting assigned someone?” he asks. I lean forward to pick up my drink again. “If we get to the point where we’d consider your application, we have some forms that you need to fill out.” I take a sip. “We ask you about your experience, things that you’re interested in, things that you’re not.” His eyebrow twitches at that, and I wonder if there is much that he wouldn’t be interested in trying. “Then we have profiles for everyone that works here, and we match you to someone who is the most suitable to your… needs.” I explain. “We complete background checks, and as long as nothing comes back, you can begin as soon as your first payment clears.” “I'm sure it’ll clear.” “I have no doubt. I am not oblivious to who you are, Mr. Reid.” This time his eyebrow does raise at me. I give him a closed-lipped smile, suddenly feeling a lot more confident in this scenario than I did at the start. “What do you need to see to consider my application?” He asks. “I need to see what you want.” I say coyly, putting my drink down and standing up. He instantly stands as well. I walk up to him, as he keeps his eyes locked on me, and when I'm right in front of him, I take my eyes off him to put my hand on his chest. It's another tactic that helps my clients get into the atmosphere, and while I’ve previously written this off as something I'm not going to do to my boss, as the conversation progressed, I find myself itching to touch him. So I do. My hand runs down his chest, then I slide it across his stomach until my fingers are running down his forearm. I flutter my eyes back up to look at him, feeling a rush of excitement at seeing him staring down at me, and I take the glass out of his hand, bending slightly to put it on the table beside me. “Follow me.” I whisper when I straighten back up, and once again, I head off across the room, knowing he's already following me. I pass the bar, and Nico holds up two different numbers on his fingers – 2, and 4. A silent gesture to tell me which rooms are occupied, and will show Mr. Reid the opposite ends of what I can provide here. Each room in the club has a mirror. A one-way mirror. There is the door that the staff and the clients enter from, on the opposite side to the mirror. Behind the mirrors is a walkway, only accessible by a door that only workers have a key to. The door is also conveniently next to the guard’s post, so that they can monitor who goes in and out. It isn’t usual for clients to be here by themselves, not everybody consents to being watched. The rooms that Nico tells me though, those clients have agreed to being watched in their applications. I nod to Kai at the post, who smiles back at me. I unlock the door, pushing it open, and glancing behind me to see David not even two steps behind me. The hallway is dimly lit, but once I unveil the one-way mirrors, they let more light in. As I walk, I continue my screening process. “What are you primarily interested in?” I ask. “What are the options?” He counters, and I turn back to look ahead so that I can hide my smile. I know these debating skills from the boardrooms – getting others to answer first. “The main aspects are either domination, or submission. We get a lot of clients interested in both, some have a particular… fondness for one over the other. Then we explore your specific interests within each dynamic. You just need to choose which role you take.” I stop walking as I reach Room 2, and turn to face him. He stops in front of me. So close to me that I can almost feel his suit grazing me. “I’ve never been very good at submitting.” He says with a playful look on his face. “You would be surprised how many businessmen think that, and then it turns out to be the one thing they needed.” I whisper, making the look fall off his face. I reach out to my side, and flick a switch, the switch that reveals the room through the mirror to me. His head immediately turns. Then he steps forward as he takes in the scene. Harper is sitting in a plush armchair, eating an apple, with one of her clients kneeling on the floor beside her. His neck is enclosed with a collar, a lead attached, which she is keeping loosely looped around her wrist as she ignores him. David watches with curiosity as the client looks up at her, then quickly back at the ground, but she notices anyway. “Did I say you could move, Dylan?” Harper asks in a deceitfully sweet voice. “No, I'm sorry, my love, I'm so sorry.” The client rushes to say, his gaze going back to the floor. But Harper doesn’t let it slide. She gets out of the chair, tugging on the lead to make him follow her. She puts her apple down and picks up the riding crop from the table, turning back to him. “Down.” She orders, and Dylan immediately presses his face to the ground, her foot coming to rest on his shoulder blade, allowing her access to his ass as it raises in the air. “This is submission?” David asks, his voice breaking slightly in the middle of his words, and his eyes not leaving the scene as the sharp whip resounds through the room as it makes contact with Dylan’s skin. I step forward, running my hand up his arm, over his shoulder, and down his back, leaning into his ear. “He isn’t very good at it, but yes. He’s the submissive.” I whisper. I don’t miss the corner of his lip twitch upwards. “They have been working together for a long time, so it isn’t always evenings full of sex. This brings him just as much pleasure, the rules, the structure, knowing when he’ll get punished, and what for. He also has a thing for heels, so she's making sure that he focuses on those.” I take my hand off him as I see him breathe deeply. “Like I said, a lot of businessmen prefer this aspect. Their days are so chaotic that they need this predictability to really let go.” I say, before clicking the switch off, and bringing his attention to me. I turn to head to Room 4, leaving him in silence to think over what he just observed. As I reach Room 4, my hand hovers over the switch, and it isn’t until I feel his body close to my shoulder, that I switch it on. This scene is different. Sophia, my colleague, is tied upright in a box frame, her hands and feet at each corner, spreading each limb as far as possible. The client, someone I know is relatively new to the club, is tying a blindfold over her, kissing her gently before moving away, and I see her smile. Dominants are never dominant enough here, I think, and I know she's thinking the same. They always try to make sure they're soft enough to not cause me pain, to make sure we're okay in between. As the client moves to the desk, I notice the difference in David’s reaction. Room 2 was curiosity. Observation. This room however, I notice his eyes fixed on Sophia, running over the frame, her position. I notice his chest moving in a more pronounced way. Slow, but noticeable. Like he's trying to control his breathing. The client picks up a nine tails. It's one of my favourites too. Feeling the dull ache in my core, I suddenly feel a little desperate to do something. To touch something. And the only thing in the vicinity, is Reid. I run my hand over his shoulder, then push gently, urging him to sit on the stool in front of the mirror. He does it without even looking back at me, and that action alone makes me bite my lip. I move behind him, the other hand moving to his other shoulder, and I take my time sliding them over him, over towards his chest, my mouth going to his ear. “This client is new, so it’s more about exploring bodies, finding out what works for him, for her.” I whisper, my fingers expertly undoing the top two buttons of his shirt, while he just stares blissfully ahead. I slide my hand under his shirt, my fingernails grazing over his skin, and I want to close my eyes as I feel the hairs, the muscles under my palm. I can feel the slight thump of his heartbeat as the client walks around Sophia, dragging the ends of the nine tails over her skin, both of us watching her shiver and squirm in the restraints. When his hand suddenly grabs my wrist, I freeze. Then I remove my hands, walk around him, and flick the switch off. I only need to give potential new members a taste, and we’ve both had that by now. He clears his throat and stands, adjusting his waistband as subtly as he can. The movement isn’t subtle to me however, as I've seen hundreds of men do it in a hundred different ways. “So, what seems the most interesting for you, Mr. Reid?” I ask as smoothly as I can with him staring down at me, his pupils blown wide. “That one.” He breathes, and I nod, half expecting that answer. “Do I get to choose who I match with?” “We can note it down, but if the person you want doesn’t share your preferences, there isn’t much I can do.” “What about you?” He asks, stepping forward. “What about me?” I say, with a slight stutter that I internally curse myself for. “I want to dominate. And I want to dominate you.”The bedroom door is barely closed before David's hands are on me, sliding up under the thin silk of my robe as he backs me against the wall.I tilt my head back against the cool plaster, letting him kiss down the column of my throat while my fingers work the buttons of his shirt open. His skin is still firm under my palms, though the muscle has softened slightly with the years, the hair on his chest is more silver than dark now. I love every change. Every line around his eyes when he smiles, every grey at his temples, every scar from nights we almost didn't survive. I trace them with my fingertips as I push the shirt off his shoulders."You smell like trouble," he murmurs against my collarbone, voice low and rough the way it gets when he's already half-gone on me."Good trouble?" I ask, sliding my hand down his stomach, feeling the way his muscles jump under my touch."The best kind." He catches my wrist, brings my palm to his mouth and kisses the centre before guiding it lower and th
Wow. I can’t believe I’m writing this. Two chapters and one epilogue ago, we were still holding our breath. Now here we are… at the end of SIR. For good this time. I don’t even know where to begin. Thank you. Truly. Thank you for stepping into this world with David and Nora. Thank you for riding every high, surviving every heartbreak, arguing with me in the comments when I stressed you out, and loving these characters as fiercely as I do. What started as an idea became something so much bigger because of you. Writing this book breathed life into my lungs in ways I can’t even explain. There were days when this story carried me just as much as I carried it. David and Nora’s journey wasn’t just ink on a page for me. It was healing, it was cathartic, and most importantly... it was home. And now… BOOK THREE! After so many debates with my editor and so many passionate discussions with you all, I’ve finally made the decision. Book 3 of SIR will follow Lucia. Yes. Our little Luc
Maya jerks backward from the impact, the bullet tearing through the meat of her shoulder. She staggers two steps with her right hand clamping over the wound and blood already seeping between her fingers. The knife she’d pulled from her boot clatters to the floor. Her eyes are wide and locked on the smoking barrel in David’s hand.I’m still on my knees beside Vincent’s body, his blood soaking through my jeans. My ears are still ringing from the shot. Everything feels slow and too loud at the same time.I turn and see David standing in the doorway, holding the gun steady even though his knuckles are white around the grip. He doesn’t look at me first. His eyes stay on Maya.I push myself up slowly, legs shaky under me. “I thought I told you to stay outside and let me handle this on my own.”He finally glances my way. Just a quick flick of his gaze enough to make sure I’m still breathing, before returning to Maya.“I heard you,” he says. His voice is calm, almost conversational. “And if I
Maya stands frozen under the bright lights of the Red Room, her chest rising and falling too fast, eyes wide with the kind of shock that only comes when every careful plan collapses in the same heartbeat. Blood is drying on my arms, sticky and warm, but none of it is mine. The bodies of her men lie scattered across the carpet like broken dolls – some still twitching, most already gone. The air smells of copper and gunpowder and fear. I keep the pistol steadily pointed to her chest. My voice comes out calmly. “All I want is an apology, Maya. One honest apology. Say it, and I let you walk out of here.” She stares at me for a long second, then laughs. The sound starts small and builds until it echoes off the crimson walls. “That’s it? That’s why you staged this entire circus? For a fucking apology?” I don’t smile back. “Not everyone is an evil genius.” Her laughter cuts off suddenly and she wipes a smear of blood from her cheek with the back of her hand. “No. You’re right. You’re far
Maya settles deeper into the leather armchair in the surveillance van parked three blocks away with her legs crossed and a tablet balanced on her knee. The feed from the six micro-cameras she planted throughout David and Nora's apartment is crisp, the audio clean enough to catch every breath and every word. She has watched David and Nora return from the federal building, watched him hold her too long in the foyer, watched them disappear into the master suite for what was obviously not a conversation. The rage that had simmered since the chapel wedding is now a steady burn in her chest, but she keeps it contained. Rage without control is useless. She has learned that lesson the hard way. On the screen, Nora moves alone through the hallway toward the front door. She kisses David on the cheek just before she steps out, and promises to be back home soon. Wouldn’t be so sure if I were you, Maya thinks to herself. Nora steps out holding a black leather bound
The sight of Maya on our couch with her legs crossed, looking like she’s waiting for room service, snaps something inside me and I just move. I cross the living room in three strides, my hands already curling into fists, ready to wipe that calm smile off her face with every ounce of rage that’s been building since the day stepped into that warehouse. I almost make it. The cold press of a gun barrel against the back of my skull stops me dead. “Easy now,” a man’s voice says from behind me. “Hands where I can see them.” I raise them slowly, doing my utmost to quell the rage building up within me. Maya sets her glass down on the coffee table with a soft clink. “Well,” she says, standing smoothly, “now that we’ve gotten the initial hostility out of the way, perhaps we can behave like adults.” David puts himself between me and the gunman without hesitation. “Get that thing off her head,” he says in a voice that's danger







