Darren tells the server to bring us some water. “You waiting until you’re officially twenty-one to graduate to adult drinks?”

“I like my kid’s drinks, and Felipe makes a mean Shirley Temple.”

He chuckles while shaking his head. He makes a comment, but I’m distracted because I’ve spotted the woman from the restroom in an alcove beneath the second-floor balcony. Only now she’s naked, her wrists tied above her to a wooden post, and she’s covered with clothespins matching the one I found.

Darren follows my gaze. “Something the matter?”

“She dropped one back in the restroom,” I reply, showing him the one I hold.

“Return it to her Dom.”

I look at the beefy man with a hood over his head standing before the woman wearing nothing but clothespins. I’m not exactly eager to interact with the patrons on this side of the club, but I should return the clothespin. Getting up, I walk over.

Holding up the clothespins, I say to the hooded man, “I think this might be hers.”

“Thank you,” he says in a surprisingly cordial manner.

I don’t know why I assumed a man in a hood wouldn’t be well-mannered.

He accepts the clothespin. His other hand holds the end of a string that seems to run through the other clothespins.

“Would you like to do the unzipping?” he asks.

I wave “no” with both my hands. “I’m just here to return the clothespin.”

Quickly, I make my way back to the table and take a good guzzle of the water that has just been placed there. Maybe I shouldn’t wait till I’m actually twenty-one to try alcohol.

“What did he say?” Darren asked.

“He asked me if I wanted to do the unzipping?” I reply.

“You didn’t want to?”

“I don’t even know what he’s talking about.”

“Watch.”

The man applies the clothespin I gave him by pinching the flesh of her belly. He asks the woman a question. She nods. A second later, she’s screaming as he yanks the string and pulls off all the clothespins.

“Oh my God,” I gasp.

Darren stares at me. Hard. “This your first time in a BDSM club?”

I turn my widened eyes to him. “Um, hell yeah.”

How many people does he know who can answer that question negatively? This is crazy. Darren is casually sitting here like we’re in a coffee shop. What made him think I had any experience with BDSM whatsoever?

“You know anything about BDSM?” he asks.

I shake my head.

“You must have read about it. I’m told it’s a popular genre for women.”

“I don’t get around to reading a lot of fiction. Even if I did, I don’t think I’d pick up a book with BDSM in it.”

“Why not?”

“Because…why would I want to read about pain?”

“Because it’s sexy.”

I cock a brow to show my skepticism.

“Why else do you think people do it?” he returns.

“I can think of better ways to get off than resorting to pain.”