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CHAPTER1
Kimika Murakami stood in the doorway of Iniquity, the Eden Resorts specialist kink club, and her eyes went wide.
The dungeon, because that’s really what it was, was beautifully decorated and not at all what Kimi had expected.
While she was the receptionist for the Tartarean Hotel, where Iniquity was based, and had agreed on her employment application that she was ‘kink friendly’, she didn’t really venture down here at all.
Somehow, she’d always felt far too self-conscious, even though the curiosity had been eating at her ever since the resort had opened.
Now it was the staff Christmas party, though. And Iniquity was where it was being held.
Well, for this half of the island anyway.
The remainder of the staff… those who were not bdsm oriented, were having their party hosted at the Casino, which was situated in the basement of the island's other hotel, the Empyrean. Kimi could have chosen to attend that one if she’d preferred, but somehow, doing that just felt like a cop out. Never mind a very public snub to her work mates.
“Come on…” Janae, the other receptionist she worked with, pulled on Kimi’s arm. “Don’t you dare get cold feet on me now, girl!” she exclaimed, her eyes narrowed and slightly accusing.
Janae had held Kimi’s hand - both literally and figuratively - for the entire evening. Helping her dress appropriately and giving her the necessary pep talks… okay, yes, and a fair amount of cajoling followed by straight out threats, in order to get Kimi here.
As if to remind Kimi of that fact, Janae tossed out another. “I swear, I will not speak to you for a month if you bail on me now. Not after I’ve spent my entire free afternoon doing your hair and makeup and gone through lord knows how many outfits to get you this far!”
It was true; Janae had been a saint. Virtually every outfit Kimi had tried on, she’d nixed for one reason or another, until her friend was almost pulling her hair out, and Kimika had heard far too many cries of, ‘You’re going to a kink club, not your maiden aunt’s bible study class,’ which seemed to be Janae’s favorite line.
Finally, they’d managed to compromise on something that was sexy enough to appease her friend, festive enough to fit the party spirit, and modest enough for Kimi not to feel too self-conscious.
Of course, she still felt half naked. Hell, shewashalf naked, in the pair of skimpy booty shorts and winter white cropped top she was wearing… Even if it did have long sleeves; much to Janae’s disgust.
“I don’t know what you’re so worried about,” Janae had said, constantly. Another one liner which seemed to be a persistent phrase in her arsenal. “Look at you! You’ve got everything going for you. You’re reed slim…”
Substitute skinny.
“… your hair is as straight as a pin and never seems to get mussed…”
Substitute too slippery to hold any kind of style.
“…and you have that gorgeous olive skin tone and exotic beauty.”
Substitute Japanese, which might mean any number of things, depending on who was talking.
The truth was, as keen as Kimika was on the lifestyle, and it did indeed hold a considerable draw, she simply didn’t know what she was doing, and that lack of practical knowledge made her overly cautious. Even among the wealth of experience that existed on Elysium.
Maybe because of it.
“And this is the Christmas party,” Janae continued, as she all but pushed Kimika through the doors. “It’s not like other evenings. You’ll know everyone here, so there won’t be any strangers to worry about. Nothing unknown. This is as safe as it gets. It really is.”
Kimi sucked in a shaky breath and took an involuntary step forward.
Was knowing everyone an advantage? Kimi wasn’t so sure. She had to work with these people. Tomorrow she’d see them in the cold light of day.
Maybe she just wasn’t cut out for this kind of thing.
“How do you do it?” she asked her friend, knowing Janae was a regular visitor to Iniquity.
Janae frowned and stopped in her sensational six-inch stiletto heels to contemplate Kimika, who felt positively tiny next to her friend. “How do I do what?”
Kimi shrugged. “How do you umm…” She sighed, feeling embarrassed about getting the words out. “How do you manage to play with our colleagues and then carry on at work like nothing happened?”
Janae pursed her lips as she considered her answer. “It’s hard to explain properly unless you’re familiar with the lifestyle, I guess. It’s just the way it works. We all accept the nature of BDSM for what it is, but you sound like you’re getting hung up on sex, Kimi. And that’snotwhat it’s about.”
