Free Safeword Quinacridone by Candace Blevins Page A

recognition, so only my voice will open it from the outside, and the riddle’s kind of silly,” he shrugged, “but I have to say something, may as well be mellon .” He brushed his hand towards the room. “Come on in. I’ll leave the door open.”
    Cara had expected medieval dungeon chic, but it looked almost sterile, like an operating room. Some of the walls were mirrored while others appeared stainless steel. The white floor was some sort of solid industrial material, though sections looked soft and rubberized. Mechanical equipment hung from the ceiling, all shiny and chrome. Everything was mirrored, chrome, brushed steel, or white — she saw no color, and not a spec of black.
    A few pieces had obvious purposes but others didn’t. There was a metal chair with attachments all over, a big X frame in a corner, a table resembling something out of a psycho gynecologist’s office, and a gigantic massage table on steroids with hardware she was afraid to speculate about. There was a horizontal bar with contraptions bearing a resemblance to stocks from the Middle Ages, but in brushed steel instead of wood; and brushed steel cabinets covered large sections of two of the walls.
    Travis walked to one of the cabi nets and pulled up on a handle and the door silently disappeared into the ceiling to reveal brushed steel hooks bearing red leather whips of all sizes — some with one strand, some with four or five, others with what looked like dozens. Several sported thin and long strands, a few short and wide, and a particularly scary one was comprised of long braided pieces with wicked knots on the ends. He opened a set of doors to display paddles, many of them also red, but some painted white, and one in brushed steel. She was as much in awe over his use and non-use of color as of the things in the room.
    “Did someone else decorate this, or is this your style?”
    “I designed this room. I’ve been told it’s cold, but I wanted it emotionless and sterile. Sex can get messy and almost everything in here can be bleached clean when we’re done. I can see myself wanting romance with you though, and creating a place with warmth, and more heart, for the two of us. He looked around. “But I’ll still want this room; still want to hurt someone, to hear them scream in this room.” He focused on her again. “It’s soundproof . N o sound gets out once the door’s closed.”
    She glanced apprehensively at the door, still standing wide open, and looked back to him. “If I wanted to watch you hurt someone, see what it’s like ... could I? I assume if you’re paying them, you can tell them there’ll be an audience of one?”
    His hand was inches from a flogger but he dropped his arm and turned to look at her. “You want to watch?”
    “Yeah, this is scary. I don’t think I want to be alone with you in here. You say you only do things they like but...” She waved her arm towards the worst of the whips. “Can you understand why that’s hard to believe?”
    His eyes followed her gesture, landing on the whips before returning to her. They were kind, understanding, and patient as he quietly said, “The computer in here isn’t hooked up to any network, to assure it can’t be hacked. It has a few videos of me in action — I paid extra for the right to record some scenes, and they only allowed it if my face and voice were also in it, so they’d know it wouldn’t end up on the internet. I’ll show you one, if you like.”
    He motioned towards the large X frame as he continued. “Someone tied to the cross in the corner, with me flogging her back, turning her and flogging her front, turning her again and whipping her back, and finally having her kneel to get me off with her mouth. This particular girl doesn’t allow vaginal or anal sex, but she loves pain and can take a lot. It’s rough, but you’ll see she’s enjoying it. Are you interested?”
    Was she? Her girlie parts were awestruck; even if a lone rational inner voice