Red Handed by Shelly Bell Page A

there another reason?
    â€œAnd where does Master DeMarco sleep?” Danielle asked.
    Gracie stumbled over her feet, but quickly recovered. “Oh, um, Master Cole has a private residence upstairs on the other side of the house from the trainees’ rooms.”
    â€œI must have missed the staircase to it.”
    Gracie stopped and whispered in Danielle’s ear. “Master has a secret room behind the bookcase in his office. I’ve never seen so many screens outside of a television store. It’s a voyeur’s dream. A couple of the dungeon monitors sit in there during Benediction’s business hours and watch what’s going on in every room. There’s not much privacy in this place, but privacy’s overrated, don’t you think? Anyways, the stairs to his residence are in there, although he’s very protective of his private space. He doesn’t let anyone up there and keeps it locked at all times. In fact, he’s the only one with the key.”
    She nodded absently, wondering if she somehow managed to get the key, how in hell she’d ever get into his residence without being caught. “What are dungeon monitors?”
    â€œKind 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. They’re also given the responsibility of watching the club monitors.”
    Aware of the video cameras all around her, Danielle discreetly assessed the area near Cole’s office. The hallway leading to it was empty. Maybe she didn’t 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.
    â€œThose are a few of our regular members,” Gracie said. “They’re 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.” She waggled her eyebrows. “Clothing is optional, but no sex is permitted. Fondling and petting, yes. Human tables, definitely.” She pointed to a wet bar on the side of the room covered by bottles of wine, spirits, and liquors. “There’s an open bar, but the rule is if you drink, you’re not sanctioned to enter the dungeon or the upstairs rooms. People can’t give consent if they’re inebriated, and no one plays without giving consent.”
    Human tables? She couldn’t 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. “What do the wristbands mean?”
    â€œBenediction uses colored wristbands to identify people’s kinks.” Using her fingers, Gracie ticked off the kinks one by one. “You’re 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 Cole’s aware of everyone’s tastes. That’s why he’s so good at matching his slave trainees with dominant partners.”
    â€œCole—I mean, Master Cole—plays matchmaker?”
    â€œIn a way. He’s very good at determining what a member—and for that matter, a trainee—requires 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.” Gracie’s almond eyes widened, and her lips tipped up in a wistful grin. “It’s a truly beautiful and thrilling event to watch.”
    At a loss for words, Danielle sputtered to a complete stop. A slave auction? Was that even legal?
    Luckily for her,