Free The Braille Club (The Braille Club #1) by J. A. Kerr Page B

favourite sensory devices. Some Patrons are better than others, because evoking intense pleasure is a coveted skill. Assignees have their grace period to settle in and enjoy. Should they move within this time, the cuffs vibrate violently, making the Assignee freeze and the Patron smile. Movement is what the Patron strives for, the rubber stamp they are doing a good job. But after the grace period ends, bells soon begin to ring.
     
    Marbella, 2012
    Siena
     
    Siena was the only child of Carl and Adriana Green. Her father was extremely rich, and possessed everything in life except the son he longed for. Her Italian mother was desperate for another child to build the brood she had always wanted. It had taken them over ten years and thousands of dollars to conceive Siena. Although cherished by her mother and father, she felt her childhood was overshadowed by their desire for another child. She spent a lot of her early life in Tuscany with her mother, in the town she’d been named after, mainly for holidays, sometimes when her mother needed time to recuperate after another failed round of IVF. This continued on and off until Siena started grade school. At home in America, they lived in a large renaissance style Italian mansion right on Malibu beach; it was idyllic. Her mother had natural grace and beauty, with a warm caring personality. She was popular amongst her friends and had a full life, her only sadness her need for a second child.
    Siena rolled away from Benedict, dreaming again.
     
    She was back on the boat; the sun out in a cloudless sky, the ocean blue and calm. The boat was moving beneath her feet as she walked across the deck. Checking the instruments, she smiled at her father, but his face was blurred. She thanked God for the sweater she was wearing, her dad’s, warm and much too big. The breeze was refreshing because she wasn’t feeling great; her stomach had been upset since breakfast. She moved to sit inside the cabin. Her mum had her back to her, and she didn’t turn round as she painted her nails. The aroma was unpleasant and a cold sweat formed on her forehead. Leaving the upper cabin, she stumbled below deck and made her way to her mother’s room. The pain was much worse, and she could barely move her shaking legs before she dragged herself onto the bed. She was crying now and terrified as she lay curled in a ball, clutching her stomach.
    Her mother was shaking her; she stared at the blood on the bed, why was it there? Her father was shouting and Siena wondered if they’d arrived. She was looking forward to seeing her friends. She felt herself being lifted but couldn’t open her eyes. A strange odour was all around her; she didn’t like that smell. There were flashing lights and noise, everything was strangely muffled.
     
    With a cry she started awake, the terror of the dream still with her. Awakened now, Benedict heard her distress and turned to her.
    “Siena, what is it? Are you okay?”
    “No,” she whispered. She moved from the bed to the bathroom in a rush, barely making it in time to vomit, crying and choking as her body heaved. She felt his hands pulling her hair back, his warm body next to hers. She was surprised but grateful. Then came the familiar dizziness, the light started to fade and then…the darkness.

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter 13
     
     
    THE BRAILLE CLUB
     
    Braille Commandments
    1. Thou Shall Not See
    2. Thou Shall Not Speak
    3. Thou Shall Not Tell
     
    Braille Club, London, Present Day: All Braille members must wear only the Caligo fragrance with their sensory suits. Perfume and aftershave is distinctive, so to protect identities, everyone must smell the same. The scent is available within the club to both Harrison’s and Braille members alike, and they can’t get enough of it. Silence within zones is also for protection, as regional accents belonging to members might be instantly recognisable. Thou Shall Not See and Thou Shall Not Tell is self-explanatory and