Chapter One
David was disappointed to see table three’s guest leave the room. Her presence had clearly added both to Grace’s arousal and her fear. Fear was, he knew, an excellent aphrodisiac, but he was confident that even without the unknown woman’s presence he and the staff could make certain that by the end of her next orgasm Grace would understand and fully embrace the indescribable sensations of pleasure pain.
So far her trials had gone very well. The last time he’d brought a woman he’d cared for to the Dining Club, she’d failed on this very test, and his disappointment had been crushing. In her he’d thought he’d found someone he could love and be himself with, but he’d made a bad mistake. It had taken him several years to allow himself to get as close to a woman again, but now Grace meant more to him than she realized.
He was tired of living alone, and of the endless line of beautiful women who flitted in and out of his life. They were all sophisticated, intelligent and excellent company, but he’d known instinctively that they could never share his deepest sexual desires. Grace was different. Her work meant that she was very open-minded, she enjoyed her own sexuality and she was determined to succeed in a very difficult line of work. He wanted a woman who could be his equal in all things and yet was willing, at times, to become submissive to his darkest desires.
Amber was always an eager sexual partner, with a line in sexual depravity that more than matched his own. He could rely on her to satisfy him in that way whenever he visited the Dining Club, but in other ways she wasn’t his type of woman. Her undeniable beauty was almost too perfect, and she had no warmth in her, and no humor.
Over the past two years he’d reluctantly begun to accept the fact that one woman could never be everything that he wanted and needed, but then he’d met Grace and had dared to hope again. So far she was proving him right, but the second part of the pain through pleasure trial might, he knew, see her walk out of the Dining Club and his life forever.
Despite the fact that she was succeeding as he’d hoped, he was honest enough to admit to himself that there was a small part of him that almost wanted her to fail before the end of all the trials. Watching Grace struggle with herself, trying to adapt to forms of sexuality that had previously been totally alien to her, he’d felt one or two totally unexpected moments of tenderness toward her. Once or twice he’d even wanted to protect her from the greatest excesses, and he didn’t like that feeling.
Yes, he wanted to love her, but he wanted to do it on his own terms and in his own way. From the moment he was old enough to leave the home where he’d grown up he’d vowed that he’d never allow anyone to manipulate him emotionally in the way he’d watched his mother manipulate his father. His father had always said that his mother wasn’t well, but David had known differently. She used her husband’s love as a weapon, so that she got her own way in everything.
Then, as he made his way in the world, he watched male friends fall into the same trap. Besotted with the women they’d fallen in love with, they changed. The rounds of golf became few and far between, while nights out with their male friends gradually tapered off. Falling in love turned them into different people. Once, long ago, he’d nearly fallen into the same trap himself, and when he’d extricated himself from that relationship he’d sworn never to fall in love again.
He’d vowed that no one was ever going to be allowed to do that to him, but whereas with Amber there had never been any danger of her having emotional control over him, he was now faced with a very different situation. If Grace succeeded in becoming what he wanted sexually, would it mean that she could then wield the kind of emotional power over him that his mother had done over his father?
It was a dilemma he’d never
David was disappointed to see table three’s guest leave the room. Her presence had clearly added both to Grace’s arousal and her fear. Fear was, he knew, an excellent aphrodisiac, but he was confident that even without the unknown woman’s presence he and the staff could make certain that by the end of her next orgasm Grace would understand and fully embrace the indescribable sensations of pleasure pain.
So far her trials had gone very well. The last time he’d brought a woman he’d cared for to the Dining Club, she’d failed on this very test, and his disappointment had been crushing. In her he’d thought he’d found someone he could love and be himself with, but he’d made a bad mistake. It had taken him several years to allow himself to get as close to a woman again, but now Grace meant more to him than she realized.
He was tired of living alone, and of the endless line of beautiful women who flitted in and out of his life. They were all sophisticated, intelligent and excellent company, but he’d known instinctively that they could never share his deepest sexual desires. Grace was different. Her work meant that she was very open-minded, she enjoyed her own sexuality and she was determined to succeed in a very difficult line of work. He wanted a woman who could be his equal in all things and yet was willing, at times, to become submissive to his darkest desires.
Amber was always an eager sexual partner, with a line in sexual depravity that more than matched his own. He could rely on her to satisfy him in that way whenever he visited the Dining Club, but in other ways she wasn’t his type of woman. Her undeniable beauty was almost too perfect, and she had no warmth in her, and no humor.
Over the past two years he’d reluctantly begun to accept the fact that one woman could never be everything that he wanted and needed, but then he’d met Grace and had dared to hope again. So far she was proving him right, but the second part of the pain through pleasure trial might, he knew, see her walk out of the Dining Club and his life forever.
Despite the fact that she was succeeding as he’d hoped, he was honest enough to admit to himself that there was a small part of him that almost wanted her to fail before the end of all the trials. Watching Grace struggle with herself, trying to adapt to forms of sexuality that had previously been totally alien to her, he’d felt one or two totally unexpected moments of tenderness toward her. Once or twice he’d even wanted to protect her from the greatest excesses, and he didn’t like that feeling.
Yes, he wanted to love her, but he wanted to do it on his own terms and in his own way. From the moment he was old enough to leave the home where he’d grown up he’d vowed that he’d never allow anyone to manipulate him emotionally in the way he’d watched his mother manipulate his father. His father had always said that his mother wasn’t well, but David had known differently. She used her husband’s love as a weapon, so that she got her own way in everything.
Then, as he made his way in the world, he watched male friends fall into the same trap. Besotted with the women they’d fallen in love with, they changed. The rounds of golf became few and far between, while nights out with their male friends gradually tapered off. Falling in love turned them into different people. Once, long ago, he’d nearly fallen into the same trap himself, and when he’d extricated himself from that relationship he’d sworn never to fall in love again.
He’d vowed that no one was ever going to be allowed to do that to him, but whereas with Amber there had never been any danger of her having emotional control over him, he was now faced with a very different situation. If Grace succeeded in becoming what he wanted sexually, would it mean that she could then wield the kind of emotional power over him that his mother had done over his father?
It was a dilemma he’d never
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