He turned to find a petite redhead. “Hello, Rachel.”

She was a relatively new submissive to the group, and he thought this was probably her second party. As far as he knew, she didn’t play with anyone at the moment.

“I thought maybe we could . . . but I didn’t see . . .” She waved at his armband.

He wore a yellow armband in order to be identified as the Dungeon Monitor. Everyone in the group knew he’d be overseeing the party, ensuring everyone’s safety, and that his rule was law.

“Outside of the fact that I’m not currently available,” he said, “I think you know most of the Doms in our group prefer to make the first move.”

She shrugged. “I’m just impatient, I guess.”

He crossed his arms and stared at her until she dropped her eyes. “Are you here to serve or to be served, Rachel?”

“What?”

“Look at me.” He waited until she met his gaze. “Are you here because you long to submit and serve, or are you here because you’re looking for something you want?”

Her nose wrinkled as she thought about his question. “Aren’t they the same thing?”

“No, they aren’t. One is the heart of a submissive and one is not.”

“I don’t understand.”

“When you approached me just now, were you truly thinking of my needs or your own?”

There was nothing but silence. “My own,” she finally whispered.

“Do you see the difference now?” he asked gently.

“Yes, sir.”

“Perhaps you should take a few minutes to think about why you’re here tonight.”

She mumbled her reply and he watched her walk back toward the main house. He could see she was dejected, but he knew her and felt with the proper Dom she could flourish into a wonderful submissive. That Dom just wouldn’t be him.

On the other hand, if Julie turned out to be interested, he was certainly willing to help her discover her submissive nature. After talking with her yesterday, he desired nothing more than to take her interest and slowly transform it, first into want and eventually into need. He grew hard just thinking about being the one to introduce her to the pleasure to be found in surrender.

The steady rise of voices coming from the main house drew his attention. He scolded himself for being distracted by fantasy and hurried into the living room.

It was no surprise whom the two voices belonged to: Kelly Bowman, one of the group’s few Dommes, and Evan Martin, a Dom she was frequently at odds with. Kelly stood with hands on her hips, looking every bit the part of “Mistress K” in a skintight black leather bustier and skirt and boots that reached her thighs. Her long red hair was streaked with black.

Evan had a slightly amused look on his face and Daniel groaned. If he had to guess, the Dom had probably picked the fight with Kelly in order to get a response out of her. He thought about telling them to get a room and f**k it out like they both seemed so desperate to do.

“Mistress K. Master Martin,” he said instead. “I’m three seconds away from throwing you both out. End it now.”

Kelly broke the stalemate first. “Apologize to Master Covington, Martin.”

“Suck my dick, K.”

“I’d have to be able to find it first.”

Daniel stepped between them. “Enough. You two know better. Evan, there’s a petite redhead looking for a play partner. She needs a lesson in serving with the proper mind-set. Can I trust you to handle it?”

Evan winked at Kelly. “I’ll take care of her. I love a feisty redhead.”

“Asshole,” Kelly quipped.

He blew a kiss over his shoulder.

Daniel waited until the other man left. “If I thought it’d do either of you any good, I’d suggest you help him. Force the two of you to work together.”

“If you’re going to lecture me, call Martin back so he can hear it, too.” She snapped her fingers at one of the group’s male submissives. “You, there. Come here.”

“Maybe I thought I’d speak to you since you’re the more reasonable of the two,” Daniel said.

The submissive had made it to where they stood. A look of excitement was evident in his expression. “Yes, Mistress K, how may I serve you?”

“My cane needs a workout. If you’re amiable, go wait for me in the upstairs bedroom. The green one. I want you n**ed and kneeling in the middle of the room.”

“Yes, Mistress K.”

“You’re excused.” She didn’t bother to watch as he left; instead she turned back to Daniel. “You’re sorely mistaken if you think Martin and I will ever work together.”

“At least keep it outside the group. You guys should be setting a better example.”

“Outside the group? As in private?” She waved her hand. “Forget it.”

Daniel decided to quit while he was ahead. At least he’d defused the situation. “If I find you both in the same room again tonight, I’ll be asking you both to leave.”

“Fair enough.” She gave him a sadistic smile. “Anything else, Master Covington? I have a backside to cane.”

“That’s it for now.”

She turned and flicked her hair back over her shoulders, high heels clicking across the wood floors as she made her way to the stairs.

Daniel took a deep breath. The situation between Evan and Kelly would come to a head one day. He had the feeling all he’d done tonight was delay the inevitable for a short while. But for the moment, it’d have to be enough. He had a party to oversee.

He walked through the kitchen, nodding and speaking to a few people. The kitchen was a neutral area where no play of any kind was allowed. Groups of people stood around the kitchen’s island, talking and laughing. If you ignored the way everyone was dressed, it could have been a party held anywhere to the casual observer, but he recognized the subtle undertone.

There was an underlying current of awareness between the paired-up couples. Every so often there’d be a certain look given and a flash of knowledge would cross from one partner to the other. Or there would be a barely noticeable touch: a hand to the small of a back, fingers lightly brushing the nape of a neck, or a gentle tug of hair. All very normal and yet used in this group to convey any number of things between Dominant and submissive.

Jeff waved him over.

“What’s up?” Daniel asked.

Jeff was another senior Dominant. He was known for his expertise with rope bondage and was often sought after among the submissives of the group. He was an introvert who played with a variety of women, but never spent too much time with anyone in particular. At the moment, he was alone.

“Closed door in the bedroom off the living room,” Jeff said.

He raised an eyebrow. “Who?”

Only approved members were allowed to play behind closed doors at a party. Even then, there was an understanding that the door could be opened at any time by a senior member. The rule was put in place to keep everyone safe and to provide security for those playing.

“William. I’d check it out, but I’m due to oversee Peter and Sasha, since it’s his first demo.”

William was approved for closed-door play, but he’d never done it before.

“Thanks, I’ll go have a peek.”

The mention of Sasha brought Julie back to his mind. He tried not to think of bringing her to a play party, but found the image kept returning. Would she be an exhibitionist? Some submissives were.

He shook his head. He didn’t know for a fact that she was a submissive. Hell, she’d barely been able to admit she’d thought about being a submissive. He needed to take it slowly, one step at a time.

He stood outside the door listening for a few minutes. A few soft moans came from inside the room, followed by a low, deep voice and a sharp slap. He didn’t know William all that well; he’d been recommended by another Dominant in the group. Daniel didn’t want to bust into the room and disrupt the scene, but with William being an unknown, to him at least, he’d wanted to be sure everything was okay.

He turned the knob slowly and pushed the door open a few inches. The darkness of the room was the first thing he noticed. It took his eyes a few seconds to adjust and make out the shadowy figures inside.

A kneeling woman, hands bound behind her, had her back to him. William faced her and the door, and he nodded at Daniel.

“We have company, my pet,” William said, swinging a flogger near her, but not striking.

Daniel couldn’t make out who the woman was; the darkness of the room kept her anonymous.

“He needs to be sure you’re okay. Are you? Answer honestly.”

“Yes, Master Greene. I’m good.” Her reply was soft and breathy.

Daniel watched for a little while longer. William shifted his attention back to the woman at his feet. With a measured and seemingly meticulous pace, he first worked the submissive mentally. He whispered how naughty she’d been and how he planned to punish her.

When he told her to bend over the foot of the bed, Daniel quietly closed the door. He felt confident William knew what he was doing and that the woman was safe and in good hands.

He walked back into the garage. Ron must have taken to the submissive introduced to him by Dena, as he had her bound to a wooden bench. Unlike William, Ron was using only his hands. Daniel planned to introduce toys at their next training session, so until then, he was restricted to working with his hands. However, judging by the sub’s moans, he was doing well with his limited resources.

Daniel knew he needed to work his way upstairs, but he hesitated. Sasha would be up there with Peter and he knew his thoughts would drift to Julie if he saw her best friend and business partner.

Like your thoughts aren’t already on her.

He didn’t know Sasha all that well. What he knew came mostly from other Dominants who’d played with her. She was friendly, but had a slight insolence about her that would require a certain type of Dominant to control. He hoped Peter would be the type to do it.

Julie, though, while being strong-willed, wouldn’t be considered insolent. There was a fine line between the two. Some Dominants enjoyed walking that line; he just wasn’t one of them.

He stopped in the kitchen on his way to the stairs to have a glass of water and spent a few minutes chatting with the people hanging out. A young Dominant asked for advice on a scene he was planning and Daniel set up a time to talk with him early the next week.

After making it upstairs, he first checked on Kelly and her caning session. The Domme had finished, it seemed. Her submissive for the evening was kneeling at her feet and she had her hands in his hair, whispering something to him. He gazed up at her with worshipful eyes, seemingly oblivious to the massive erection he sported.

Daniel knew Kelly; he’d watched her play before. The caning might be over, but she was far from finished. Another night, he might have stayed and watched, but his Dungeon Monitor duties dictated he move on.

In the next room, Peter had Sasha bound to a padded table. She was on her back, spread-eagle, while Peter stood at her side with a crop. Jeff stood by observing, and Daniel joined him.

“All good with the closed door,” he told him. “How’s Peter doing?”

“Competent.”

Daniel nodded and the two men watched the scene before them for a few minutes. More people trickled into the room, as part of the play at the party was being allowed to observe other couples. When it became more crowded, Daniel caught Jeff’s eye and motioned his head toward the hallway.

Jeff followed him and they went downstairs.

“Listen,” Daniel said. “I wanted to thank you for trusting me yesterday at the meeting. I know it wasn’t totally by the book, but it was the best thing for the situation.”

“I trust you know what you’re doing.” Jeff’s voice was deep and rough. “But she was an unknown to me. I was looking out for you.”