No, we had everything planned for the next event already. “It’s one of our members.” I figured it was best to stand up for this, so I took a swig of my water before I left my seat. “As some of you know, we had a minor problem last month, which August reported to us.” I positioned myself at the head of the table and opened the file I’d brought. “A member named Shay Acton approached August with hopes of getting some S/M playtime, but when August tried to vet Shay—who’s fairly new here—the kid scrambled. He didn’t want to explain his masochism or take part in any pre-play discussions—or aftercare, for that matter.”
We were lucky it was August, a well-known friend and Sadist who took safety as seriously as one could.
“Shortly thereafter, Shay approached another Sadist,” I went on. “Same thing. It was reported to us, and there was reason to believe Shay was looking for punishment.” I gestured to Penelope. “Pen talked to him at the last munch.”
She nodded. “I reminded him of the rules—and the consequences if they weren’t followed—and offered counsel in case he wanted to talk or needed help.”
Colt scratched his jaw and squinted at me. “Wasn’t there talk of banning him?”
I inclined my head. “Briefly, but we don’t wanna go there. Especially not now.” I glanced at Riv, silently asking if he wanted to share his findings, but he shook his head minutely. All right. I cleared my throat. “The other week, Riv and I heard from a couple friends in another community. After some back-and-forth about a masochist they’d encountered, we understood it was Shay again. He’s literally turning DC’s kink communities upside down in a quest to find a Sadist who will beat his ass for the wrong reasons.”
“It won’t take him long to find one,” Luke said with a shake of his head.
“No, it won’t,” I replied. “We already know he’s found his way to the wrong crowds.” Thanks to River following Shay two Saturdays in a row. And digging around a bit. It was what my brother had done professionally for over fifteen years. Old habits died hard. “River has found out some things about Shay’s personal life that I won’t share here, but it’s led us to believe that pushing him away might have disastrous effects.” I paused. “As far as we know, he doesn’t have a regular job. Instead, he makes his money as a cage fighter on the weekends.”
Colt turned grim.
Luke’s and Macklin’s eyes flashed with concern.
“Then he’s definitely running in the wrong crowds.” Lucian frowned. “What do you propose, Reese? How can we get him away from that?”
Riv and I exchanged a glance.
“We’re going to set a trap for him,” I answered, sliding my gaze back to the others. “We’ve violated his privacy enough already, so as I said, we’d like to keep what we’ve found out to ourselves. But we kind of need y’all to help and do us a favor.”
“Name it,” Penelope said. “You know we trust you.”
River cleared his throat and sat forward a bit. “We need a masochist or two to recommend Shay to approach us.”
I inclined my head. “It has to be someone who can let Shay know that Riv and I don’t always play by the rules.” Which…wasn’t all that far from the truth. For events and whenever we were around our friends in the community, it went without saying that we followed the terms of use we’d set up together. But behind closed doors…? What we did was our business. “I know Cameron has recommended us to Shay, but for all we know, he’s wary of us because of our position here.”
Colt and Luke glanced at each other, perhaps silently communicating whether they knew someone who might fit the bill.
“My ex-girlfriend,” Penelope said, nodding pensively. “I can give her a call. She’s an adrenaline junkie like you guys.” I remembered her. Isela was fun. “Is Shay active online?”
“Sometimes,” I responded. “I’ve seen him reply in the S/M threads.”
“I have a casual partner in another community I can talk to as well,” Lucian said. “He’s a pain slut.”
“We need more of those with us.” I sat down again, thankful for our friends and the trust we placed in one another.
“How can you be sure this is gonna work?” Greer asked, speaking up for the first time. Like River, he preferred to observe. “I’m not even talking about your little trap. We’ve seen you attract flies with vinegar, so I don’t doubt you there. But if Shay’s already found an outlet in illegal cage fights, what makes you think he’ll go for a Sadist?”
“He renewed his membership the other day,” I replied. “Fifty bucks a month isn’t chump change.”
River sought out my hand under the table, and I knew what he wanted me to add, but I squeezed back, conveying I was handling this. It was enough that he and I knew the other reason Shay probably hadn’t given up on finding a Sadist was…well, if you wanted to be punished, you didn’t want to fight back.
“He hasn’t attended any events at the house in Mclean, has he?” Luke wondered.
I shook my head. “No, I checked all the attendance files since he became a member in March.”
The snack platters looked too good to just waste away in the heat, so I started filling a plate with some nachos, buffalo wings, cheese, and fruit.
“Riv and I will be at the White Rose event on Friday,” I said. It was a biweekly kink party another community hosted at a club here in Logan Circle. “Shay is listed to attend.”
“I’m sure my play partner will be there too,” Lucian said. “He’s part of their inner circle. I’ll give him your number in case you need a second person to talk to Shay.”
Solid plan.
Half an hour outside of DC was my reason for avoiding going into the city. When our closest friends had shown their enthusiasm for starting a new kink community, Riv and I had taken out a mortgage to buy what had become our home and playground.
With River in his truck in my rearview, I sped up along our private road until the trees parted and revealed our three-story Victorian looming on top of a small hill. Painted black and appearing sufficiently old, the sight alone was enough to scare some of the subbies who visited. Just the way we liked it.
I rounded the circular drive in front of the house and drove into the carport to the left. There was space for a dozen cars, which was an average Friday crowd when there was no particular event, just kinksters coming out to have fun. Right now, there was only one other vehicle. A rigger and his rope bunny were preparing for a bondage demo tonight.
River parked next to me and stepped out. “Any other obligations today?”
I shook my head. “I gotta start inventory tomorrow, but today I’m just gonna plant my ass in the pool and throw a couple steaks on the grill.”
“Thank fuck. I’m tired of people.”
I smiled faintly, and we left the carport and trailed up toward the house. I didn’t have the heart to tell him that most of our guest rooms were booked for the rest of August, starting after the weekend. Our members knew the drill and rarely required any attention, but one of us had to be present just in case. This weekend, Penelope and Lucian would be in charge.