there another reason?
âAnd where does Master DeMarco sleep?â Danielle asked.
Gracie stumbled over her feet, but quickly recovered. âOh, um, Master Cole has a private residence upstairs on the other side of the house from the traineesâ rooms.â
âI must have missed the staircase to it.â
Gracie stopped and whispered in Danielleâs ear. âMaster has a secret room behind the bookcase in his office. Iâve never seen so many screens outside of a television store. Itâs a voyeurâs dream. A couple of the dungeon monitors sit in there during Benedictionâs business hours and watch whatâs going on in every room. Thereâs not much privacy in this place, but privacyâs overrated, donât you think? Anyways, the stairs to his residence are in there, although heâs very protective of his private space. He doesnât let anyone up there and keeps it locked at all times. In fact, heâs the only one with the key.â
She nodded absently, wondering if she somehow managed to get the key, how in hell sheâd ever get into his residence without being caught. âWhat are dungeon monitors?â
âKind of like unpaid security guards. Several of the more experienced members volunteer a few hours every week to act as dungeon monitors and watch over the scenes to make sure everyone is safe. Theyâre also given the responsibility of watching the club monitors.â
Aware of the video cameras all around her, Danielle discreetly assessed the area near Coleâs office. The hallway leading to it was empty. Maybe she didnât need to seduce Cole. If no one monitored in the secret room during the day, she could find the key, then sneak into his residence when he was busy somewhere else in the mansion.
Passing the den on the way to the staircases at the front of the home, Gracie waved to a group of people lounging on couches.
âThose are a few of our regular members,â Gracie said. âTheyâre here several times a week. We caught them on the early side of the evening. Check them out when you go back to your room later.â She waggled her eyebrows. âClothing is optional, but no sex is permitted. Fondling and petting, yes. Human tables, definitely.â She pointed to a wet bar on the side of the room covered by bottles of wine, spirits, and liquors. âThereâs an open bar, but the rule is if you drink, youâre not sanctioned to enter the dungeon or the upstairs rooms. People canât give consent if theyâre inebriated, and no one plays without giving consent.â
Human tables? She couldnât imagine what that meant. Everything else sounded tolerable.
Danielle noticed they all wore wristbands of different colors, similar to the silver slave band she wore on her wrist. âWhat do the wristbands mean?â
âBenediction uses colored wristbands to identify peopleâs kinks.â Using her fingers, Gracie ticked off the kinks one by one. âYouâre most likely to see black for Dominant, white for submissive, yellow for switches, green for partner swapping, and blue for ménage. There are several others. Master Coleâs aware of everyoneâs tastes. Thatâs why heâs so good at matching his slave trainees with dominant partners.â
âColeâI mean, Master Coleâplays matchmaker?â
âIn a way. Heâs very good at determining what a memberâand for that matter, a traineeârequires in a partner. Almost like a sixth sense. Every few months, he invites the available Dominants to a slave auction for those trainees looking to enter a contract after graduation from the program.â Gracieâs almond eyes widened, and her lips tipped up in a wistful grin. âItâs a truly beautiful and thrilling event to watch.â
At a loss for words, Danielle sputtered to a complete stop. A slave auction? Was that even legal?
Luckily for her,
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