Ricochet (31 page)

"No, of course not," Matt said quickly.

Apparently, this was a touchy subject within kink

house circles, and he felt as if he was struggling to

keep up.

"Let me explain our service to you," Grable

continued with an amiable smile, perhaps realizing

he'd alarmed his client. "You can book one of our

rooms for a period of three hours. You will tell us

precisely what you'd like to happen during those

few hours, and we will do our best to match you

with another of our clients who shares the same

fantasies. I pride myself on making excellent

matches!" He gave a smug little smile and patted

his paunch happily.

"Okay." Matt swallowed hard. This was

starting to feel real.

"We can usually cater to most tastes - even

the more bizarre ones." Grable raised a knowing

eyebrow at him. "You will not know each other's

names or any personal details about each other. At

no point must you volunteer this information to

each other during the course of your encounter. It's

anonymous and designed to cater to your exact

tastes; that's precisely the point."

"What about a safeword?" Matt asked

nervously.

"That's up to you. One of our most frequently

asked for kinks is for play without a safeword.

Some people come here to play without any limits

at all - nothing is off the table. They want the thrill

of extreme edge play. Of course, we do require all

participants to sign a disclaimer, so they take full

responsibility

for

any

unwanted

outcomes

themselves."

Matt bit on his lip, his overactive imagination

supplying what a few of those "unwanted

outcomes" might be.

"All encounters on our premises are recorded

in case of quibbles or legal action at a later date.

You do understand?" He gave an apologetic sigh.

"People are so litigious these days."

"What happens to the footage?" Matt asked,

shuddering at the thought of a sex tape of his

encounter at a kink house getting out.

"Oh, they are kept very safe and secure,

locked away from prying eyes, trust me!"

Matt thought he wouldn't trust this man as far

as he could throw him, but he guessed the guy had

his reputation and that of his salon to think about.

He wouldn't get many clients if he leaked their

personal tapes to the media.

"So - would you like to proceed?" Grable

asked.

Matt thought about it for a second but he'd

come this far, and he didn't want to wimp out now.

"Yes," he said, with more conviction than he felt.

"Good, then let me take some personal details

from you. I need to know precisely what you'd like

to get out of your play session at our salon."

Matt flushed wildly, and Grable laughed. "My

dear Mr. Stevens, there's nothing to be

embarrassed about. I do this all the time. Here, let

me make some suggestions. Firstly, are you a dom

or a sub?"

"A sub."

"I thought so. I can usually tell." Grable gave

a self-satisfied little smirk. Matt wondered what

Grable's orientation was. He got the sense that the

man might be a dom or possibly a switch; he

definitely wasn't a sub. "Now - what kind of dom

would you like? Someone cruel and demanding?

Or someone kind and gentle?"

"Not cruel, definitely, but I'd like someone

very firm and in charge," Matt said slowly, trying

to think of a way to put his fantasies into words. "I

want to be overpowered, overwhelmed, and not

given a choice."

"Very good." Grable nodded repeatedly,

looking pleased. "Do you have a preference for a

male or female dom?"

Matt didn't usually have a preference, but he

remembered how he'd felt being physically

overpowered by Rick in his trailer the previous

week and found himself saying, "A man", without

giving it any further thought.

"Excellent. And what about specifics? Do you

want penetrative sex to happen, and if so, forgive

the indelicacy, but do you wish to be the

penetrated party?"

Grable looked as if he was getting off on

asking all these deeply personal questions, and he

gazed at Matt keenly while moistening his lower

lip with little darts of his tongue.

"Yes," Matt said, squirming inside. There

was something about this man that made his skin

crawl.

"And how about flogging, nipple clamps, butt

plugs, whipping, caning…?" Grable read from a

long list.

"Flogging, clamps and butt plugs are all fine

but no whipping or caning - or at least - yes, but

only as long as they don't leave any marks. I can't

be marked," Matt said. He was in a TV show

where he might be asked to take off his shirt at any

moment; he couldn't show up with marks all over

his body.

"Oh, that is a shame! It will reduce the

number of potential play partners we have for

you," Grable said. "Would you reconsider?"

"No," Matt said firmly.

"Very

well."

Grable

looked

almost

personally disappointed. "How about humiliation?

Is that part of your fantasy?"

Matt flushed again. "Um, yeah, okay - as part

of a scene," he said pulling his baseball cap even

further over his face and sinking down in his chair,

wondering if it was possible to actually die of

embarrassment. He'd never had such an intimate

conversation with anyone who wasn't a lover

before. "I just don't want to be in control - that's

the main thing."

"Well then, that leads us onto bondage,"

Grable said. "Do you wish to be restrained?"

Matt hesitated. He had never been able to

tolerate bondage with any of his previous doms.

The idea of having control forcibly taken away

from him freaked him out too much, even though it

was also one of his most vivid fantasies. It was no

accident that his freak out earlier had occurred

when Karl had wrapped Rick's belt around his

wrists. Bondage always caused him to panic but

this wasn't about doing what he always did - the

whole point was for him to confront his fears and

move beyond them, like Ben was doing.

"Yes," he said quietly. "I want to be

restrained."

"How about blindfolds and gags?"

"They're fine."

"Good. I'll give you a list to fill in and send

back to me, with a more detailed list of kinks."

Grable looked like he couldn't wait to pore over it

and uncover all Matt's most personal secrets. "But

I like to go through a few of the more obvious ones

and get a feel for you as a person first. That's the

purpose of this interview."

"Okay." Matt wondered if he was really going

to go through with this. The idea of coming here

and indulging in a sex play session with a total

stranger was insane. He felt surreal just sitting

here.

"Very well, I think I have all I need!" Grable

sat back in his chair, beaming again. "I'll get

Marilyn to show you around. We have a number of

nice suites, all of them equipped with bathing

facilities and a full range of the items you'll need

in order to enjoy your experience: Lubricant,

implements, restraints and so forth. Of course, we

do take a fee for setting up the arrangement and

providing the facilities for both you and the dom

we'll match you with." Grable gave an apologetic

smile.

"I understand." Fantasia's fees were pricey

but that wasn't an issue for Matt. He'd always been

good with his money, and he earned a big salary on

Collar Crime
, so he had plenty in the bank.

"When did you wish your play session to take

place? I'm sure I'll be able to find a compatible

dom on our books for you to play with, and we

have a free slot in one of our suites on Friday

evening," Grable said, glancing at his computer

screen.

"Friday? So soon?" Matt said nervously.

"That's just a few days away."

"Is that a problem? I wouldn't want you to

miss out and this suite is our very best."

"Right. Okay then. Yes," Matt said firmly,

coming to a decision. "Friday evening will be

fine."

"Good. Then I think we're done. Thank you so

much for your business, Mr…" Grable snapped his

fingers in the air.

"Uh…" Matt racked his brain. "Stevens!" he

remembered triumphantly.

"Ah yes - Stevens." Grable gave him a

conspiratorial wink.

They got up and shook hands, and Matt was

relieved to finally be able to make a run for the

door. He was almost there when Grable called him

back.

"One last thing, Mr. Stevens!"

"Yes?" Matt turned.

"We never did discuss whether you want to

allow yourself a safeword," Grable said. "You

should be aware that if either you or your dom for

the evening doesn't complete the session, then the

person who defaulted will be liable for the entire

cost of the session. Usually the cost is shared

between you, but it wouldn't be fair on the dom if

you safeworded out five minutes into the scene,

and he still had to pay his half of the evening's

session. And we do demand full payment, whether

a session is completed or not." He gave another

one of his apologetic smiles. "So - do you want to

have a safeword for your play session or not?"

Matt had used his safeword earlier, to escape

from the scene with Karl and Rick, and that had

just been a rehearsal, not the real deal. He knew

that having a safeword was the only sensible way

to play with strangers, but he also knew that if he

had a way out of a scene then he'd use it. The

minute a dom tried to restrain him, or he felt like

he was getting in too deep, he'd panic and say his

word, and then this whole thing would be a

humiliating failure rather than the exciting

adventure he wanted it to be.

"No," he said quickly, before he could change

his mind. "No safeword."

"Excellent!"

Grable

beamed

at

him

approvingly. "Then we will see you here on Friday

night, Mr. Stevens, for your very first Fantasia play

session!"

Matt felt his heart thud ominously in his chest.

"I can't wait," he said.

"What are you doing here?" Rick demanded,

pulling his arm away angrily. He took off his

helmet and slung it on the back of the bike.

"Is it a crime for a father to want to see his

own son?" His father looked him up and down.

"You're looking good, Ricky-boy. When your bitch

of a mother left you on my doorstep, I did wonder

if you were even mine, but you're the spitting

image of your old man. You're Sean O'Shea's son,

through and through."

That, unfortunately, was true. His father was

only an inch or two shorter than Rick, and he had

the same jet black hair, broad shoulders, strong

nose, and wide, full lips. Only his eyes were

different; his were coal black, whereas Rick's

were a deep green, the same color as his mom's.

"What do you want, Sean?"

"Aw - aren't you gonna call me 'Dad'?"

"I don't see why; you were always miscast in

that particular role. So what do you want? This

clearly isn't a social call."

"What makes you say that?" Sean gave a

twisted little smile.

"Because this is the first time I've laid eyes

on you in fourteen years."

"So, I'm not good at staying in touch." Sean

shrugged. "Maybe now I want to make up for that,

son."

Rick laughed. "Ah, I see - the news that I've

landed a big role on a hit TV show only just

reached the rock you're living under, and you came

to sniff me out."

"Do you really want to be having this

conversation out here?" His father waved his hand

at the gates. "I saw some pictures of you throwing

a pretty little sub over your shoulder in a magazine

recently, so I figure the paparazzi like hanging out

around here in the hope of getting some good

gossip." He leaned in close and tapped his nose. "I