A Natural Born Submissive (3 page)

It seemed an odd thing to say, but Alice didn't have a chance to get him to elaborate.  Just as she was about to ask Victor Priest to explain himself, a muscular man in a brown leather vest walked over.

"Master V, you are needed upstairs."

Master V
, Alice wondered.

Alice turned to observe the crowd, realizing as she did that the drinks she'd consumed had been deceptively strong.  She was beginning to feel languid as her eyes scanned the crowd.  There was a curious assortment of people—gay couples, straight couples, and a large group of young women chatting and giggling in a corner.  Alice figured it was probably a bachelorette party. She was surprised at how low-key and reserved the crowd was.  Perhaps her expectations of a club like The Beaten Path had been all wrong.

A disembodied voice got her attention as the lights in the room dimmed and a red light flooded the stage.  The tallest drag queen Alice had ever seen sashayed onto the stage as the announcer introduced her as the evening's MC, Bellissima.  Alice smiled, recognizing the performer as the young man she'd seen walking towards the performers' entrance.

Bella greeted everyone, promising a very entertaining show.  She made a few jokes about some crazy happenings that had been in the news recently and the police department's handling of each incident.  She chuckled appreciatively.

Bella introduced the first act of the evening--a woman twirling a fiery baton.  Alice watched, mesmerized, as the beautiful young woman brought the flaming ends of the baton dangerously close to her body.

The next act was a bit more scintillating. A tall, muscular woman in full dominatrix dress walked out, leading a slight, beautiful young man by a leash attached to a collar around his neck.  Aside from the collar, his only other clothing was a pair of black Speedos.

After parading the young man around stage, the dominatrix led him to a wooden St. Andrew's cross, where he stood obediently as she bound him.  The crowd began to cheer as the woman made a show of seductively edging the Speedos down the to the middle of the young man's muscular thighs.  Alice looked away, flushed, and then made herself resume watching.  The dominatrix had lifted a flogger from the belt on her waist. Its braided leather handle ended in about twenty leather strands, which she now used to lightly whip the slave boy.  Alice could not tear her eyes away, and sat transfixed by both the sight of the lad's taut, reddening bottom and his moans, which sounded more pleasured than pained.

After a few minutes of being whipped, the slave boy was released.  He bent to kiss his mistresses' shoes before hobbling off the stage after her, his legs bound by his still-lowered underwear.

Next came a couple engaged in pony play.  A tall man led a diminutive blonde woman who teetered on high heel boots fashioned to resemble horse's hooves.  A flowing horse's tail affixed behind her nearly brushed the floor.  The woman had a bit between her teeth, and her arms were bent around a metal bar across her back, which made her naked breasts protrude.  Weights hung from her pierced nipples.  Alice could not help but shudder at the sight.

The pony girl had clearly been very well trained.  Her handler took her through her paces—prancing, trotting, and a couple of gallops around the stage.  She ended in a canter as she pranced in a circle for a few more minutes, lifting her knees high, her breasts bobbing with each step.  Her handler stopped her with a "Whoa!"  pulling back on her lead and turning her so that her back was to the crowd.

The crowd applauded approvingly when he had her bend over and shake her tail, but Alice flushed to realize that there was nothing holding the tail in place, except … except … Her eyes grew wide as she stared.  The tail was attached to a plug firmly seated in the girl's anus.

Alice dropped her eyes from the sight.  When she looked up again, the girl had turned and was now eating a sugar cube from her handler's palm.

Alice realized then she was holding her breath.  She also realized with a bit of shame that, in addition to being shocked and uncomfortable, she was also very, very wet.  As the handler led the pony off stage, the MC came out to announce an intermission, and the house lights went up.

Alice looked around wildly for the exit; she very much needed a breath of fresh air.  Between the drinks and what had passed for entertainment, her head was beginning to spin.  She shakily stood, but before she could head for the door she felt a hand on her elbow.  She turned to see that Victor had reappeared.

"Are you all right, Alice?"  He looked concerned.

"Please, I need …"  She looked up at him helplessly, breaking out into a cold sweat, not sure of exactly what it was she needed.  Victor helped her to a seat placed under the air-conditioning vent and motioned for the waiter to bring her water, which she gulped down gratefully.  Between the cool water and the blast of air coming from overhead, she started to feel better.

"I hope you didn't find our show to be unduly disturbing.  Or perhaps the word I'm looking for is, 'unsettling'?" Victor asked, leaning over her.

Alice pulled herself together and sat up straight, struggling to slip back into her professional persona.

"Mr. Priest … Victor … I'm sorry.  I don't know what came over me.  It must have been the alcohol; I so rarely imbibe.  What was in that drink, by the way?"

"Just marshmallow-flavored vodka and a bit of strawberry sauce.  I presume you are not allergic?"

"No, not at all," she assured him.

At this, Victor smiled and visibly relaxed.

"Actually, I usually never have a problem with vodka," she added.

"I am so glad," he said.  "I would have felt terrible if you'd come to any harm in my humble establishment."

"Victor," she started again, determined to finish what she'd been trying to say, "I think that your club is amazing.  I'm glad such a place exists for those who are trying to connect with—how did you put it—their true selves?  Katt Templeton would be just the person to showcase your club.  We'll have her bring a camera crew next Friday night and film for about a half-hour and have those who would not mind appearing on camera sign waivers.  I'd like to show the young woman with the flaming batons on stage in the background, but the other acts are a bit too extreme.  Do you have more tone-down acts, something perhaps more PG-rated?  Also, would you be willing to be interviewed on camera?"

"I'm sure that can all be arranged, Alice.  What time on Friday?"

"Does 10 pm sound doable?  You may want to make an announcement tonight that we will be here next week, in case anyone in the audience would like to show up—or stay away—for the filming.  The show will air the following night."

"Will you be here again?" Victor asked.

Did she detect a hopeful tone in his voice?  Alice studied him carefully.  He was really a handsome man … no, not just handsome … striking was the word she was looking for.  He seemed like an ethereal being, with his dark lips, pale complexion, and unusual eyes.  Was he … she squinted into his eyes … was he wearing eye makeup?  She wondered what he'd look like out in the bright light of day.

"Yes, I'll be there," she assured him.  She got up to leave, but he urged her to stay for the rest of the show.  She declined.  "I'm afraid I'm not up to that much excitement," she said, her eyes twinkling.  He walked her out to her car.

"Are you certain you are all right to drive?" he asked.  Alice thought about it.  She felt fine now.

"Perfectly all right," she assured him.  He continued to stand there watching as she pulled out of the parking lot and drove away.

As Alice drove home, she sought to clear her head of what she'd seen by turning her thoughts to her daughters.  She was looking forward to her weekly Sunday morning call to them.  She missed them so much, and it comforted her to know that they were both going to the same college—UNLV—where they could at least keep an eye on one another.

Having them leave on the heels of a painful divorce was a big adjustment, but she knew things could be worse. She had a good job, and in spite of how annoying her mother could sometimes be, she'd really come through for Alice.  Moving back home to share expenses with her mother allowed Alice to help her daughters pay for student housing, books and other things not covered by their scholarships.

Knowing she was making the right choices for her daughters dulled some of the sting of moving back home, but it was a better option than staying with Ray.  Once she'd found out he'd been cheating, she knew she could not live with him a moment longer.  When she later found out that the affair she'd caught him in was just one in a long string of infidelities, she knew she'd made the right decision, regardless of what it cost her.

 As she pulled in to her childhood neighborhood, she thought about how much simpler life had been when she was living here as a child.  They'd moved there when she was five years old, and her father, a scientist, had been transferred from Seattle to work at the nuclear testing site.  The house was in the northwest part of town.  Back then the development had been new, built for the scientists and their families and located on the very outskirts of town.  Now, forty years later, it was practically in the center of town—so  much of the city had sprung up around it.

She cut the engine after parking in the carport.  The light in the kitchen was on; her mother's evening was obviously over, although she doubted the bingo hall was as interesting as The Beaten Path.  But as she walked in, she could see from her mother's expression that she'd had at least as much fun.

"Guess who won a thousand dollars?" her mother asked as she entered, flashing a wad of bills.

Alice laughed.  "Let me think … You?

They celebrated over pie.

Chapter Three

Friday night arrived quickly for Alice, who could not deny the feeling of excitement that grew at the idea of returning to The Beaten Path.  This time when she entered the club, she was more at ease.  Having already visited, it felt familiar. Plus she had the added confidence of having Katt by her side.

"I always wondered what this place was," Katt said, looking around. "It's nice."

"Whoa.  Check this out."  Katt was heading towards the wall that held the BDSM implements, surveying them with interest as the crew unloaded their film equipment.

There was no uneasiness in Katt's demeanor as she examined the paddles, floggers, and canes. Alice found herself admiring her friend.  Katt was not only beautiful, with her ebony skin, waist-length hair, and killer legs, but she was tough as nails.

A former showgirl, she'd gone on to become a journalist and was rising through the station ranks herself in another city when one of her stories was discredited and she was fired.  Alice recognized her name when Katt's resume hit her desk, and although her station manager initially balked, she convinced him that Katt Templeton's on-screen appeal and name recognition would help the show she was pitching.  And it did.  The two had been close friends and co-workers ever since.

Alice felt a twinge of jealousy as she watched Katt interact with Victor.  Now that he'd gotten a closeup look at the glamorous Katt, he'd probably forget she even existed.  They talked for a while, as if she weren't even in the room—Katt leaning in to him and at one point and placing her hand on his arm.  She kept laughing at whatever it was he was saying, and Alice edged closer, trying to hear.  Victor hadn't struck her as a particularly funny fellow.  Whatever could he be saying to her co-worker?

After a while, Katt turned back to Alice, and with a nod of her head indicated that she should follow her out of the club.

"What did you think of him?" Alice asked, trotting along behind as they headed towards the van.

"Victor?  Intense, weird, creepy," Katt replied.

"But do you think that quality he has will come across on camera?" Alice pressed.

"Quality?  What quality?"

"That magnetic quality," Alice started to explain.

Katt stopped walking and spun around.  "Magnetic quality?  Really?" Katt smiled but then turned serious as her brown eyes widened.  "Alice, you don't have a thing for that guy, do you?"

"A—a thing?"

"You know exactly what I mean," Katt replied, in a no-nonsense tone. "Because that guy is not for you.  Trust me.  He's way out of your league."

Alice's expression betrayed her hurt before her words could do so.  "Wow, thanks, Katt.  It's nice to know that even if I were interested—which I'm
no
t—that you think he's too good for me."

"That's not what I mean." Katt sighed, exasperated.  She grabbed Alice by the shoulders.  "Look at me, girlfriend.  What I meant is that this guy inhabits a world you know nothing about.  It's dark and dangerous and nothing like you're used to.  So you just stay away from him, ya' hear?"

"Fine, OK."  Alice winced as Katt let go and turned back to the crew.  As her friend moved away, Alice surreptitiously rubbed her upper arms.  Katt's grip had gotten pretty tight, there.

As Katt set to work writing her segment, Alice conferred with the cameramen about angles and moved to put a sign by the door announcing that filming was in progress.  She was walking back in the club when she nearly ran into Victor.

 "Hello, Alice."  His tone was cordial, almost shy.  "How is the filming going to unfold tonight?"  She had wanted to see him in daylight, and here he was, looking just fine but still odd, like a man misplaced in time.

She explained that Katt would interview him before the club opened, and to capture the feel of the club, she had decided that part of the program would be conducted in front of the wall of implements.  Victor agreed, to her surprised delight, and she was further delighted when the interview began to unfold.

Katt spotlighted Victor's unusual character without appearing to sensationalize or condescend to him, drawing the audience into his strange world in a fun and objective way.  She enticed Victor to open up about the club, the clientele, and even the acts that went on nightly.  Victor held his own with Katt, answering her questions with dignity edged with mischief.  Alice was delighted, suspecting that this segment would be another highly-rated episode of
Talk of the Town
.