cullen appeared, removed her untouched, watery drink, and set a fresh one down.

master dan handed it to her and asked cullen, "anything interesting happening tonight?"

"looks to be a good night. raoul plans to scene with his sub. flogging, i think, then the cane. mistress anne brought in some new toys and was going to demo them on her sub later. cock cage, ball crushers."

"anne is usually a good show."

"true." cullen's fingers tapped the bar as he thought. "ah, z's opening the capture gardens. said he'd save you a spot."

"well, now." the change in master dan's voice whipped kari's head around. anticipation and amusement. one side of his mouth curved up as he looked at her. she knew that expression, and it made her insides quake.

"in that case, give me another set of cuffs, small plug, and lube," sir said. "and what time?"

"anytime now." cullen looked at kari, his eyes filled with the same amusement as sir's. "kari. you may want another drink."

kari choked on the sip she'd just taken.

chapter fifteen

the jerk hadn't bothered to explain anything. fuming, kari had barely finished her first drink when three chimes sounded over the music. heads lifted all through the room.

"wha-" she closed her mouth quickly, earning herself a frown from sir, but nothing more.

"the gardens are open." he led her to an open door on the right wall and into a room with a stone floor and darkly paneled walls. about twenty members congregated there. on the far side, a door leading outside stood open. the scent of night-blooming jasmine and newly cut grass wafted in.

an older dm, one of those who'd touched kari's breasts on wednesday, faced the crowd. his light blue eyes met kari's, and he winked.

she flushed, then wondered if she'd ever lose that response. probably not. really, modesty should have been her middle name.

"my name is sam," the dm said. "i'll be your contact for any problems during this role-play. there are rules, and as master z has decided upon the punishments, you want to listen closely. he can be a sadistic bastard." a ripple of laughter ran through the crowd.

"for those who haven't participated before, the game is this. your sub is released into the garden with a head start. you search for her or him," he added, nodding at a gay couple and a domme with a male sub. "once found, take whatever satisfaction you and your sub have agreed upon, either right in the gardens, inside on the equipment, or upstairs in private."

kari's eyes widened. on the first night, sir had asked her about her fantasies. "a gorgeous barbarian taking you against your will? have you had that one?" her insides quivered. was this real?

sir leaned over to whisper, "when i catch you, i will take you right then and there." his hand slid over her bare butt, squeezing possessively.

she bit her lip against the surge of arousal.

sam continued, "resistance is expected, but serious fighting is forbidden; no deep scratching, punching, or hard kicking for either subs or doms. subs, the club safe word is red, and dms will be in the gardens."

"doms, you may only capture the sub whose band matches yours." motioning the gay couple forward, sam fastened bright green glow-sticks around the dom's wrist and matching ones on his sub's ankle and wrist. "chasing anyone else's sub is forbidden. of course, if one blunders right into you, feel free to cop a feel and then swat her to get her running again. anything more than that..." sam's smile was pure evil. "well, the last dom who tried for more was flogged by mistress rachel until her arm wore out, and then his membership was canceled. pissing off z isn't smart.

"the game lasts two hours, and three chimes mean the game is over. subs, a few idiots have managed to hide by removing their glow-sticks. this is your warning. at closing, the dms search the gardens. any sub still outside is considered available for use by any and all dms who join the search."

as sam finished his lecture, dan realized kari had pressed so close to his side, she almost melted into his skin.

she looked up at him with big eyes. "i don't think i want to do this."

so modest and so passionate. why did the discrepancy bring all his dom urges to the forefront? he rubbed his cheek against her silky hair and whispered back, "i know you really do want to. i can see...smell your arousal."

her eyes widened, probably from his language. and then, brave little sub, she nodded.

the line moved forward as z vetted the players; mind games like this brought out his overprotective nature. now z shook his head at the couple in front of them. "sorry, adam, but beth isn't ready for this yet. she's terrified."

"but-" adam scowled and shrugged. the bunched muscles in beth's bared shoulders eased as she and her top for the night stepped out of line.

dan smiled at the slender redhead and received a fleeting smile in return. he'd once considered topping her before realizing she only chose weaker doms. sub or not, she wasn't about to give up much control. something nasty must have happened in her past to make her so wary.

he and kari stepped up to face z.

"little one, do you understand how the game works?" z studied kari. "you'll be running away from master dan. when he catches you, he gets to do whatever he wants."

kari shivered, then nodded.

z glanced at dan. "she has a nice mixture of fear and anticipation." smiling, z nodded to sam, who fastened a bright pink glow-stick around both their wrists and another around kari's ankle.

"pink, huh." dan shook his head at sam. "thanks a lot, you bastard."

"but you're so pretty in pink, master dan."

fighting was forbidden in the club, so dan just thumped sam in the chest on the way past. sam barked a laugh.

once clear of the line, kari tugged on dan's arm. he leaned down to hear her whisper, "but you do look pretty in pink, master."

"just keep it up, sub, just keep it up," he warned.

when she giggled, his brain went stone-cold dead. he'd never heard her laugh, not like that. he grinned, wanting more. he needed to... no, he didn't need anything. no more evenings, dammit.

they walked a few more paces while he subdued his emotions.

"master?"

he nodded permission for her to speak.

"i run, and you catch me. i understand that. but i'm not much of a runner, you know."

dan tipped kari's face up. "i enjoy a good chase, so i'll add an incentive. if you don't try hard-say, if i catch you within fifteen minutes-then i'll show you how the spanking bench works in the bar room. do you understand?"

if her blue eyes got any bigger, they'd take over her whole face. "yes, master."

he could hardly wait to get his hands on her. "i'll even be nice and give you a fighting chance." he removed her cuffs.

"dan." nolan strolled over.

damn, it was good to have him back. "we got fog tonight?"

nolan nodded. "z went all out. there's dry ice in every fountain."

dan smiled at kari's puzzled expression. she'd understand soon enough. "you doing the subbie preps?"

"my favorite job, especially since returning. you wouldn't believe how overdressed women are in iraq." nolan nodded at kari. "clothing? oil?"

dan studied the little sub. her eyes were wary but bright, her breathing fast. not too scared. he could have her prepped in his favorite way. "no clothes, lots of oil."

"well, now, that will be my pleasure." nolan turned to kari, his faint smile fading. "sub, hang your shirt on the hook over there and return to me to be prepared."

her eyes whipped up to dan's.

"kari, go with master nolan."

"but..."

nolan scowled, his voice cruel. "what do you say to me, sub?"

she flinched and gave dan a look of betrayal before dropping her eyes. "yes, master." she unbuttoned the shirt and pulled it off slowly.

nolan smothered a grin as dan's sub hung her shirt on a hook and tried to act nonchalant. she looked around, obviously hoping no one saw her. of course, everyone did. grins appeared on the other doms' faces; even master z's lips curved up before he turned to the next couple.

nolan remembered this little one from last wednesday. no man with a dick would forget those lush and responsive breasts. considering dan's preference for voluptuous and sweet, nolan figured the dom might end up keeping this sub. a good thing. he'd been alone too long.

nolan stomped on the envy rising within him.

as kari approached, he looked her over slowly. coldly. part of prep included increasing a sub's anxiety, and with his scarred face, he was damned good at it. odd how a man could enjoy scaring a sub and simultaneously want to cuddle her up and reassure her. just one of those oddities of being a dom.

he set a hand on her curvy ass just to feel her recoil and pushed her outside. the night air was warm and humid, perfect for playing in the gardens.

behind them, a sub in a lacy corset and tight latex pants let out a high shriek, then darted out the door and into the gardens. nolan glanced down at kari. she chewed on her lip, obviously dying to ask why that sub got to keep her clothes and she didn't. dan had trained her a bit, since she managed to keep silent.