I slowly turned to face him, trying to hide my disappointment.
“Yes, Mr. Parker?”
“You may refer to me as Master Parker, like all the other submissives,” he stated firmly.
My heart dropped.
“Yes, Master Parker.”
Mr. Snowden held out a bag.
“Tonight, you’ll wear this,” Mr. Parker informed me.
I frowned, confused, but took the bag.
“Wait.” Mr. Parker grabbed the bag and stuck his hand in, pulling something out. “We won’t be needing this.”
He held up a thin leather collar. It wasn’t anything fancy, but it wasn’t quite as plain as the protection collars they kept at the front desk. My heart sank some more. At some point, they’d planned on collaring me and now they weren’t.
“We’d been intending to use it to ensure all the Doms were aware you were off-limits. That no longer appears to be necessary.”
I wanted to cry, but I held the sob in my chest and nodded.
“I understand,” I told him, dropping my eyes to the floor.
“Remember my instructions from earlier?” Mr. Snowden inquired.
“Yes, Master Snowden.”
“Good, we’ll see you in the dungeon in an hour.”
I nodded, then turned and headed for the locker rooms on the third floor.
I had traversed these stairs a hundred times, but tonight I felt as though I had lead weights around my ankles. While I’d been excited to come, I no longer wanted to be here. I thought for sure we were making progress, but that obviously wasn’t the case. It was as though they were constantly reminding me of my mistake.
I finally made it to the locker room and I forced my feet to carry me inside. If I wasn’t working tonight, I would’ve walked right out the door and not looked back. I owed Master Edge and Master Ramsey more than that, though. I had no choice but to suck it up.
The locker rooms weren’t the type that you’d see in a high school or a gym. These were opulent lounges with televisions and comfortable furniture. There was plush carpet in the sitting area and beautiful tile in the showers. The only thing that resembled a normal locker room were the lockers, but even those were nice, solid wood instead of metal.
I noticed a couple of submissives were sitting on the sofa watching the television, likely waiting for their shifts to start or their Masters to summon them. I didn’t say a word as I slipped past them and into one of the dressing rooms, closing the curtain. I sat on the wooden bench and opened the bag.
Inside there was a black leather bra and a matching G-string. No shoes.
I couldn’t help but smile. It was a thoughtful gift, one that kept me from wearing the short skirt and white shirt I’d been wearing for the past month. The only corset I’d owned was at Josh’s, or more accurately, in the garbage, so I’d been lacking when it came to club attire. As a submissive on duty, I was supposed to wear something sexy. This certainly fit the bill.
It only took a couple of minutes for me to get changed, then shove all my things into my locker. As I was heading out, my hand went up to my neck and I couldn’t help but wonder how it would’ve felt to wear their collar.
“Doesn’t always work out the way we want it to,” I mumbled to myself as I headed down to the main floor.
Master Edge greeted me with a smile, then pointed toward the bar. “You’ll be there for an hour. After that, your presence has been requested in the dungeon. When you’re finished there, you can help the DMs.”
“Yes, Master Edge.”
“But tonight will be your last shift.”
“What? Why?”
Was this more punishment?
“I was informed that your full-time job is taking a lot of your time and I’ve got several submissives on the waiting list.”
Obviously, he’d spoken to Mr. Snowden or Mr. Parker. Or both. I figured they no longer wanted to cart me back and forth.
“But I can’t cover my membership fees,” I admitted.
“It’s covered for a year, Addison. At that point, if you still can’t afford them, we’ll discuss further.”
Arguing was pointless because he’d clearly made up his mind. “Yes, Master Edge.”
With that, I went to my post and tried my best to keep my mind occupied.
It was either that or cry.
And I wasn’t about to cry over anyone.
Not ever again.
Forty
JUSTIN
I HADN’T REALIZED HOW MUCH I’d missed the club these past few months. Every time I stepped inside, there was a feeling of normalcy that washed over me. I knew while I was here, people wouldn’t be judging me for the things I did and said. It was a place I could come and be myself, let my guard down somewhat.
And I suspected tonight was going to be an interesting one.
When my pup had informed me of what he’d witnessed when he came back from lunch, I couldn’t help but get that strange sense of hope again. Knowing that Addison had taken it upon herself to spy on Langston and Luci made me believe she was regretting her rash behavior and the hasty things she had said.
