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Chapter Five
Tonight was the night. She had done everything possible to keep her mind off of it all day. Unpacked and organized, explored the hotel, gotten in a short work-out, and gone over and over Pax’s rules and expectations so she could be sure she wouldn’t miss anything. She’d eaten. Small meals, but she’d eaten, as that was one of the rules. Eat healthy and no meal skipping. From what she had seen, she imagined he took it very seriously.
When there was nothing left to do but get ready, she had taken her time and been very thorough in that, too. She’d taken a long hot bubble bath, and shaved everything. Lotion and moisturizer, she’d clipped and filed her nails, waxed her eyebrows, and painstakingly applied her make-up. She had also made an appointment to get a mani/pedi later in the week. Even that was on the list of expectations for health and hygiene—Pax expected his girls to look a certain way at all times. It was a little intimidating, but she understood, and she didn’t mind. It was actually one of her favorite rules, because Pax footed the bill. Part of their monthly expenses included a large allowance at the hotel’s high class salon.
And now, it was 9:45, and she was in a small dressing room off stage. She hadn’t seen Pax yet. The bouncer had shown her where to go and informed her curtly that she was going on stage in fifteen minutes. She was being spanked on stage, in front of what sounded like a big crowd that was getting bigger all the time. Diamond felt like she was going to puke—that seemed to be a common theme with her these days. She could hear the girls dancing—next week she would be joining them—and she knew her turn was coming.
Pax was supposed to be here. He said he would be here. Pulling her phone out of the pocket of the cardigan that was part of her costume, she glared at it. She didn’t have Pax’s number. Somehow, with all they had been though, she had failed to get his number. It was probably in the copious amounts of paperwork he had given her, but that didn’t help her now.
She was approaching full-on panic attack mode when the door to the dressing room opened at five minutes to, and Pax stepped inside.
Running up to him breathlessly, she exclaimed, “Where were you?” She was visibly shaking, and she didn’t even attempt to hide the fact.
Pax was perfect, as always. Rubbing her arms soothingly, he apologized. “I’m sorry. I was on my way, and there was a brawl in the lower casino floor. I was the closest one, so I had to handle it.” He eyed her up and down, and sighed. “You’re shaking like a leaf, darling.” At her sad nod, he continued, “Look at me. I’m sorry. I’m here now. I’ll be here all night. I’m not going anywhere. You’re going to do this. You’re going to go up there, accept your punishment, and move on, and try to do better in the future, capiche?”
“Yes, sir.” The ritualistic words were a balm to her troubled soul.
“Good girl,” he murmured, still rubbing her arms, up and down from elbow to shoulder in a way that was soothing simply for its repetitiveness. “Remember, you have all the control. Look at me.”
Forcing herself to meet his dark gaze she shivered again at the intensity she saw there.
“What’s your safe word?”
“Rojo.” She told him, choking on a giggle. It was the Spanish word for red, as well as the name of the club, and for some reason it struck her as funny. It was probably nerves.
“And you’ll use it if you need to.” It wasn’t a question. The way Pax spoke it was more like a command.
“Yes, sir.” She nodded her confirmation, but, in the back of her mind, she wondered what would happen if she did. Would she automatically be fired if she couldn’t measure up? She opened her mouth to ask, hesitating as she pondered how to phrase the question without sounding like a total newbie.
On stage, the music stopped, and Pax sighed. “I have to go up on stage now. Derek will let you know when to come up.” Giving her hand a tight squeeze, he turned to go.
The intercom was piped into the dressing room, so the girls would know when to go on, so technically, she didn’t need Derek to come get her, and it was probably for the sake of making sure she didn’t chicken out.
The feed was quiet for just a minute and then the heavy thud of Pax’s thick boots across the wooden stage was heard. The crowd cheered and whistled. And why wouldn’t they? He was fine.
“Good evening, and welcome to Vanilla Night. We have some brand new entertainment lined up for you tonight.” The crowd was silent, frozen with this new piece of information. She could hear Pax’s light chuckle. “Don’t worry. The agenda hasn’t changed. You came here to witness a spanking or two, and you most definitely will. Our new girl, Diamond, has had quite a week, and she has been extremely naughty.”
The crowd went wild, and Diamond rolled her eyes. That was all he had to say to get their wild applause? This was a whole new ball game. “I’m going to introduce Diamond in just a minute, but first I’d like to remind you all of the rules, in case we have any newcomers tonight.”
There was a knock on the door, and Derek, the bouncer, motioned for her to follow him. The hallway to the stage was dark and narrow, and completely foreboding. A minute ago, Diamond had been laughing and thinking about Pax’s ass instead of her own—her own was now the one she was worried about. The closer they got to the stage, the more it tingled and clenched, as if it on its very own knew what it was about to be subjected to. Derek led her right up to the side of the stage, behind the opulent red curtains. Pax had stopped talking for the moment but she could see his feet as he traveled across the stage dragging what looked to be a wooden chair behind him. Her heart pounded in her ears, and the cheers of the crowd were a constant cacophony of white noise in the distance.
She watched his feet, as that was the only visible part of him, as they stopped center stage, placing the chair in position. Her breathing grew ragged as her heart pounded in her chest.
“I see you guys are getting anxious. I’m sure Diamond is, too. So how about we get this show underway?” The response was deafening. Diamond froze in place when she heard him call her name, inviting her to join him on the stage. This was so much different than just dancing in front of a crowd.
Pax called her name again, and the crowd tittered. Being a pro at working a crowd, Paz continued to egg them on. “Uh-no,” he crooned. “It seems like the naughty girl is a bit nervous about her spanking. I guess I must have forgotten to tell her that if she doesn’t come when I call her, she gets extras.”
That phrase did what nothing else seemed to be able to and propelled her feet forward automatically, past the privacy and safety of the red curtains, and onto the stage. The smart thing to do would have been to keep her eyes on Pax and only Pax. Of course, that wasn’t what she did. Her gaze was focused on the audience for the entire length of her short trip to center stage. The audience was not what she was used to, to say the least. At Aubergine, the outfits had been your typical Vegas club outfits. People dressed for a night on the town, and she supposed that was true here as well, if your regular night on the town included your girlfriend wearing a collar with a leash attached.
There was regular clothing too—a lot of suits and leather, and several school girl costumes similar to the one she was currently wearing. Several people, men and women alike sat on the floor in a kneeling position next to their date. She was more interested in staring at them, than they were at her. Finally, she reached Pax. He had sat in the chair as he watched her slow journey across the stage. When she was close enough to touch him, she froze again.
Pax sprang into action taking over completely. He stood quickly, and leaned in close. “Follow my lead,” he whispered. “I’m here. I’ve got you. You’re safe. Except maybe, your ass,” he added with a grin. He took her hand and led her over to the chair, motioning for her to sit.
The turn of events made little sense to her, but she obeyed quickly, too overwhelmed by the crowd to do anything else.
When she was seated, Pax gave her hand a squeeze before releasing it and turning back to address the audience. “Diamond had a tough week,” he told them, his voice conveying genuine sympathy. “She came face to face with some bad memories, and on her birthday of all days. As a result, she made a series of bad decisions that resulted in her losing her job, and ending up here.”
Pax knew how to work an audience that was for sure. He had them hanging on the edge of their seats regarding her with compassion and understanding. Then her turned to her and flashed that dazzling smile of his. “But, every cloud has a silver lining, and we sure are glad to have her here.” Cries of agreement floated up to the stage, making her feel special and welcome, and almost but not quite making her forget what was about to happen.
