CHAPTER 3

The Private Room

The first section of the floor was everything dedicated to paintings, statues, and sculptures, as well as erotic films being projected onto one of the walls. Cordelia walked ahead of me, towards two big French doors, and pulled both of them open.

The second section was a much more private setting. The main event. Anything that was wood, was a dark walnut, similar to Mr. Thompson's office. The walls were painted an opaque cherry color as well as all of the furniture details following suit with even darker shades of red. The room smelt reminiscent of Cordelia's scent—rose, leather, musk, with a trace of mint. A clean essence. Rich sex. There were a bunch of different furnishings and objects scattered throughout the room.

Between racks full of restraints, canes, whips, and paddles and the four-poster California king bed that sat in the corner, with more restraints placed at the top—the entire room was filled with everything having to do with the BDSM lifestyle.

Despite the room being filled with intimidating contraptions, there was a very intimate feeling that blanketed the space. Maybe it was the materials of velvet. Maybe silk was dressed up the furniture or possibly the dim lighting. Whatever it was, the area gave off a specific kind of warmth that I was fond of.

"Oh my..." I breathed, trying to collect my thoughts and form a proper sentence.

"I know." Nancy replied, a smile lighting up her face. "From the way you were enamored with the works from the photographie érotique section, I'm going to assume you know a bit about BDSM, no?"

"I-I know of it but I'm not entirely sure what the lifestyle entails, aside from some knowledge I have on the relationship between a dominant and submissive." I confirmed. While I was intimidated by everything in front of me, my curiosity overpowered that feeling.

"Understood. Well, as one of your jobs here is being an exhibit designer, meaning you're in charge of displaying everything in a way that appeals to the audience—you will become well acquainted with the many pieces that make up this museum, these sections included." She explained, walking towards the middle of the room.

"So tell me, what do you think?" She asked, gesturing to everything around her.

"This isn't an official tour either, Miss Daniels. We have a code of secrecy in this museum, meaning that whatever is said or experienced here, stays within these walls. Be honest with how you're feeling, an artist's expression is based on candor." She reassured, allowing me to feel comfortable.

I walked towards a wooden rack that had a bunch of objects made out of different materials like leather and rope, to name a few, hanging off of it.

"Am I allowed to touch them?" I asked, looking towards Nancy. She nodded.

"Don't worry, everything is sterilized. We get a new shipment of almost every tangible thing in this room once a month, you know, as this is an interactive exhibit. Although, not a lot of people find their way into this room." She explained, walking towards me.

As my hand came into contact with the cold material of one of the leather objects, I took it off the rack to further examine.

"These are floggers. They're used during something called impact play where the dominant whips their submissive with the lashes." She chimed, running her fingers through the lashes of the flogger made out of rope.

Hanging the leather item back onto the rack, I walked towards the back right corner of the room where there was a big wall restraint, with a bunch of red vinyl-covered cushions placed in the shape of an X. I stood on my tippy toes to try and feel for the leather cuffs at the top.

"This built-in wall is for bondage. The submissive would place their body in the shape of an X, against this and would be placed into these restraints while their dominant did all kinds of things that they wanted to." Nancy stated, as she pressed her back against the wall, pretending to put herself in the position of a submissive.

The Valley

I continued to walk around, not knowing what words to say yet. Taking everything in, I sat down on one of the velvet couches, placed next to an intricately designed table with more restraints on it that I could only assume wasn't meant for placing drinks down on.

It wasn't that I was scared of everything I was looking at—I was well aware that BDSM was one of the many parts that surrounded sex and also made quite a huge impact on erotic art as well. The only feeling that came to me was a sense of attraction. Knowing that there were other people that came here and enjoyed all of the things that filled this room brought me a weird sense of belonging.

In all honesty, I was drawn to all of the different thresholds I could explore. Figuring out the definition of pain and pleasure and how the two coincide. Allowing someone to use my body and help me learn about the things that I liked. Someone to pay attention to every part of me and vice versa.

My sex life was nothing but full of shortcomings. Literally. For once, I wanted to experience absolute passion and desire and everything that came with it. Lust. Carnality. Aggression. I wanted to experience all of these things with someone who could take control of me.

Like a submissive and their dominant.

"I don't want to seem unprofessional but I feel like there's no way to explain how I'm feeling in a way that doesn't cross boundaries." I exclaimed, trying to put together what I was going to say next.

"Like I said, I'm your friend now. This is all off the record, Miss Daniels." She responded.

"Eve—you can call me Eve."

"Okay, Eve. Now, tell me. Is this what you had expected when you were applying to work here?" She asked.

"Well, I was fully aware of the nature of the museum but I don't think I realized what exactly I was going to be surrounded by. An interactive exhibit, reminiscent of a sex club, definitely wasn't what I had in mind when thinking of the different sections that made up this place," I explained as my eyes focused on one of the marble sculptures near the French doors. Antonio Canova's Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss—a sculpture that represented love and desire conquering all.

"I will be honest with you though, I'd like to know more about it. When I first walked into this room, of course I was a bit overwhelmed but as I looked around, it suddenly felt like a breath of fresh air. Comfort." I continued.

"That's all he's ever wanted this museum, this room, to embody. A sense of peace that derives from everything pain and pleasure. He calls this place The Valley—a room dedicated to getting acquainted with the many curves and parts that make up one's body. A studio purely built for exploring your limits." Nancy answered, giving me a reassuring smile.

"He?"

"Alex, Mr. Thompson. Not only did he create the vision behind this museum but this room as well. Like I said, he's a methodical man. A man who craves discipline in every aspect of his life.”