Vulnerable [Suncoast Society] (Suncoast Society #29)(23)

Mario had said a lot of things, it turned out.

Hence why Jesse honestly thought Mario was only mind-f*cking him that night at the club. Mario loved mind f*cks, and Jesse loved being played like that.

But not for realsies.

No way was someone he didn’t know and trust going to take an implement to his ass, much less control who had access to it.

Although if Leo wanted to try a few things on him tonight at the club, Jesse wouldn’t have any problems letting him learn on him. Especially with Keith’s watchful eye there to help guide the man.

Yes, it certainly could lead to a potentially messy emotional entanglement if Leo decided this wasn’t for him. Jesse knew he needed a kinky partner. He also knew how easy it’d be for him to fall for a guy if he liked how he played.

Which was why he now only played with Tilly.

He reached the club before Leo did. Instead of parking by his apartment, he parked around the other side in front of the club and stood outside the office door, waiting. Just in case, he’d brought a small backpack with him. In it, the leather play collar and wrist and ankle cuffs he wore when Tilly topped him, as well as a leather jock he wore when playing with her. And his own blindfold and ball gag.

He was a little squicky about that. He preferred to have his own stuff.

Landry and Cris pulled in and walked up. “By the way,” Landry drawled. “Tilly said if Eliza and June have signed off on him playing with you, she does, too. As long as Keith is chaperoning tonight. Which apparently he is, because she just got off the phone with him a few minutes ago.”

One more barrier…passed. “Thanks for looking out for me, guys. And please tell her I appreciate it.”

“Our pleasure. Besides, it’s cheaper than paying her bail were something to go wrong and she felt the need to extract vengeance.” Landry patted Jesse on the shoulder before heading inside with Cris.

Then Leo pulled in. When he got out of his car, Jesse felt like running over to him and throwing himself into the man’s arms.

Fuck. Where the hell is my goddamned brain?

Shaking it off, he offered up what he hoped wasn’t too damn goofy a smile when Leo joined him, soon followed by Keith, who carried a small implement bag.

“Ready?” Jesse asked Leo.

“Will it bother you if I say I’m nervous as hell?” Leo asked.

Keith laughed as he reached for the door handle. “Actually, it would bother the hell out of me if you said you weren’t.”





Venture’s office looked pretty much like it had in pictures on the website, only more…normal.

A lot more normal.

Well, other than the BDSM implements for sale on the walls.

Leo produced his driver’s license and the cash for his membership fee, filled out the form, and in less than ten minutes he was on his way inside with Keith and Jesse promising to make sure they went over all the rules with him. Leo had also talked with Tony over dinner, who was already inside and DMing that night. Tony had left word with the volunteer at the desk that Leo could bypass the usual orientation.

Nervous didn’t begin to describe how Leo felt as he followed Jesse and Keith through the door and into…

He felt sure the record screech in his brain had to be audible. The house lights were up, making it bright. About fifteen people were gathered around a man and a woman at a large, red metal A-frame. The man had the woman suspended from it and was apparently explaining to everyone what he was doing.

Keith leaned in. “Oh, yeah. I forgot. They had a suspension class earlier. They’re probably just finishing up.”

Leo tried to take everything in. To their right lay tables and chairs in what was obviously a social area. To their left, the large A-frame and other pieces of bondage equipment. Then, through a large doorway past that, what looked to be another room of bondage equipment, that one with the lights dimmed.

He followed Keith over to one of the tables in the social area, where he indicated for Leo and Jesse to sit.

“We went over the basic rules with you at dinner,” Keith said, “but just as a reminder, let’s cover them again. No means no, red means red, or stop. Don’t touch anyone or anything that’s not yours, and don’t take it personally if someone doesn’t want to hug you or shake your hand, because you don’t know what their protocols are. Don’t interrupt a scene, no sex, drugs, or alcohol allowed, and only vaping allowed inside. If you’re a smoker, you’ll need to go outside.”

“I don’t smoke,” Leo said.

“Perfect,” Keith said. He then pointed out the various areas of the club, including an upstairs area for medical play that Leo hadn’t noticed at first, told him where the bathrooms were, and explained what some of the different equipment was used for, all of that.

The man they were watching had apparently finished and was lowering the woman to the floor. Tony walked to the kitchen area, opened a breaker panel, and the house lights went down, replaced by area mood lighting.

“That’s better,” Keith said.

Now it started to look a little more like a dungeon. The faux-finish rock walls blended into the dim light and added atmosphere to the setting. Someone turned the music up a little louder, and from the large doorway he heard a loud crack, followed by a moan.

“Sounds like a paddle,” Keith said with a smile.

“You can tell?”