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Prologue
Derrick Strong looked around the house; at least ten thousand square feet but likely even bigger. His friends who owned A Cut Above had outdone themselves. When they were finished, this would not be just a club but a destination for the kink community. The last time he was here, the club was in a much smaller downtown space, and even then, there were security issues. This place would require a round-the-clock security team.
It had only been nine months since he’d last set foot in Texas, and he couldn’t believe he was back here now. The last time, it had been to help out his friends when Matthew and his woman had been terrorized. That visit had not been a very long one; they just wanted him to take a look at their seriously lacking security. Yes, they wanted their members safe, but they were doctors, not security experts, which he suspected was why he was here today.
During that visit he saw Samantha for the first time in more years than he cared to think about. He always considered her “the one who got away,” though she was never his to begin with. Seeing her, after so much time had passed, moved him. The beautiful Southern belle was bound to the St. Andrew’s cross while a Dom he didn’t know took the single tail to her. He left before the end of the scene because he wanted nothing more than to beat the shit out of the man she allowed to put his hands on her. He flew out the next morning, having done everything he could for his friends during the short leave he was able to take from the Navy.
“Hey, Derrick, I’m glad to see you made it.” His friend Alex approached, bringing him back to the present.
“You guys have been busy.” The foyer opened into a large seating area. Large was an understatement, as with the right furniture it could seat easily fifty to seventy-five people. “Looks like you have a lot more going on than the last time I saw y’all.”
“You have no idea. The situation with Matthew and Lainie made us understand that though we were just trying to provide a place for a little safe, sane, and consensual fun, we were letting our members down by not going far enough to provide for their safety. This place came at a steal, so we decided now was the time to make it happen. We bought it eight months ago and have spent the time since creating our dream club. It even has a completely open space in the basement we want to convert to apartments to rent out. The top floor has four apartment spaces, one for each of the owners, and what was once the pool house is going to be converted into a security hub.” He talked like a kid who had just come down on Christmas morning to find everything he could ever dream of sitting under the tree.
“I take it you have a reason for bringing me in?” He left the question hanging, waiting for his friend to explain.
“Come with me. The guys are in the office, and they are all anxious to see you.” Alex turned and walked toward the hall on the right as if he assumed Derrick would follow. He wasn’t sure it should be called a hall. Though it was very long, it was wide enough to drive a truck through with room to spare.
They passed several doors on either side. A couple of the rooms had a window facing the hall obviously created for the voyeurs. Though he never cared if anyone watched him in a scene, he never sought an audience, either.
They climbed a set of stairs to the second level where they entered the first room on the right to see Jacob, Matthew, and Ian sitting around, each with a drink in his hand. Matthew stood and walked over to embrace Derrick in a man hug. “Hey, man, I am so glad to see you. You are officially off Uncle Sam’s payroll, right?” Matthew asked.
“Nothing like beating around the bush there, Matt,” Derrick laughed. “And to answer your nosy question, while good old Uncle Sam and I have parted ways, we remain friends.” He couldn’t tell the guys it was likely he would be called to help when his special skill set was required. “This sure is some place you guys are building here.” He hoped that would lead them into a conversation as to why they’d asked him to come.
“Okay, my impatient friend. You want to know why you’re here.” Matthew grinned at him, and it was all he could do to refrain from responding with ‘duh.’
“Would you like something to drink?” Ian stood and walked over to the fully stocked bar in the corner.
“No, I’m just ready to find out what it is you guys need then I have things to do.” After traveling all night, he needed a shower and a place to lay his head, and the sooner the better.
“Here is what it comes down to. We have built what is going to be an amazing place for people in the community, and, as we have already seen, not everyone is in the lifestyle for the right reasons. We want you to handle security for the club. We want the works: background on prospective members, full security of the facility, and whatever else you think we need to put into place. There’s a large pool house we will be converting into a security hub. We haven’t started yet because we want you to take over and build the department from the ground up.” Ian took a swig of the drink he had been making. Nobody else said anything while Derrick thought about what he had just heard.
“Well damn, guys, I had no idea. You want me to work for the club full-time?” He hadn’t made any decisions yet about what he was going to do now that he was out of the service. This could work out nicely but would take a lot of effort.
“Not exactly,” Matthew spoke. “We do not want you to work for us. We want you to come in as a partner.”
“A partner, as in part owner?” No, they couldn’t want him to buy in as a partner. But if they did, he had saved pretty much everything he made while in the Navy and invested really well. It wasn’t like he couldn’t afford it.
“Yes. We have all been friends for years. You live the lifestyle, and with your world travels, you have a different perspective from the rest of us. We have talked extensively and feel like this is what’s best for the club, and it would give you a reason to stay. If you say yes, we plan on making the second floor of the pool house into an apartment. Though we each have our own living space in the main house, you would have yours above the security area. That way, you can be close if needed. You don’t have to live there full-time if you don’t want to, but with the plans we have in place, you won’t find anything better for you out there.”
Derrick liked the sound of putting down roots. He had planned to stay in the Clarksburg area anyway. “If I decided to do this, I would not only want to totally rewrite security protocols, but we need to hire some security professionals to assist me. I won’t half-ass this. We should hire dungeon monitors for nights when the club is open.” Not that he had been thinking about it already or anything.
“Dude, sounds like you are totally on board. We’ve already considered starting with a couple of dungeon monitors when we reopen and adding more as we grow. The safety of our guests is our number one priority.” Jacob spoke up this time.
They continued the conversation for several hours, and, at the end, Derrick felt as if his decision had been made for him, and he was ready to dive in. He’d spent the majority of his adult life traveling the world with the SEALs, and now he was ready to settle into something of a normal life, well a kinky kind of normal.
“We’ll meet with the lawyers next week and get the paperwork taken care of. In the meantime, Derrick, you can get started looking at the new security hub and order whatever you need. We want to get this show on the road.” Though each of them had equal ownership, Ian seemed to be the voice of the group.
1
Samantha couldn’t believe her eyes. She had been a member of A Cut Above from almost the beginning, but where the original space had been utilitarian, this place could only be described as opulent.
When she received her invitation by certified mail, she knew things would not be the same. The invitation included additional paperwork. The nondisclosure agreement didn’t surprise her, but what did give her pause was the notification everyone would be required to undergo background checks before being allowed membership, even if they had belonged to the club before. They were taking the safety of their members more seriously, and she couldn’t fault them for that.
Walking through the double doors of the largest house she had ever set foot in took her breath away. There was a completely open space with seating all around and a desk immediately to the right. Even this early in the evening the crowd was already building. “Good evening and welcome to A Cut Above.” The woman’s voice brought her attention back to the tall mahogany desk. “My name is Jessica, and I will be checking you in tonight. To begin with, I will need to see your driver’s license, please.”
She reached into her purse and pulled out her wallet. She handed her license to the submissive behind the desk and continued to take in the room while the other woman entered her information into the computer in front of her. How exciting that they had finally reopened her favorite play place. She needed to work out, to release stress, and the miles she had been running every day on her treadmill simply didn’t do it.
“Welcome to the new A Cut Above, Miss Gardner.” If they were anywhere else, Samantha would have corrected the young woman with Dr. Gardner, but this just didn’t seem like the time. “As you may have noticed, we have some new security protocols along with the new digs. I will be scanning the fingerprint on your right forefinger. After tonight, it will be how you will sign in. There are also new protocols if you intend to bring a visitor, but that information was included in the paperwork sent to you.”
