Cars of all types, filled with a few singles, mostly couples and a few brave groups, slowed along Pike street, near Seventh Avenue looking for either parking or assurance that even if they had found the right address, that they were still in the right place.  

Babeland, a prominent, high end, sex toy store, had an acclaimed reputation for putting on sex workshops for the experienced as well as the uninitiated.  The store took great care to entice those who trolled the streets wondering if they were the kind of people who would attend this type of event.  Many of the uninitiated simply pulled over, stopped, peeked, felt prurient and went home, most often in couples, to continue their normal sexual practices, both vanilla and kink oriented.  Sometimes it was easier to just tell your wife or husband that they were doing just fine in the rack, rather than face the reality that what used to be hot sex had morphed into lovemaking and then had become perfunctory and tedious.  It was just too risky to learn enough to know that after fifteen years of practice, neither of a couple had the slightest, well, fucking idea what they were doing and in large part, that had to be okay.   

The more timid people pulled back into the stream of traffic, pulled trench coats securely around semi formed fetish outfits and tacitly admitted fear and a sort of failure.  They usually ended up being jealous of the courage of those who through practice or unquenchable desire were able to gather the nerve to step out of their cars and take the leather laden steps towards the well lit doors of Babeland for the Fetish is Your Friend seminar.

Seattle’s light evening mist helped with the illusion that coats were necessary for the rain rather than as camouflage on this warm evening.  Even with the sex store edging up on packed, there never was a ‘clients waiting out the door’ moment.  If a crowd began to form, folks would simply walk on past until entrance could be made with the minimum of exposure at the door.  

Inside the sex toy store, the real sex freaks felt like the vanilla normal people had invaded. On the other side of the kink coin, the normal people were likewise certain the sex freaks had taken over.  Victoria reigned over them all, a whip wielding peacemaker.

The signage on the wall facing the front doors proclaimed, Fetish is Your Friend: Power Exchange presents, BDSM for normal people.   BDSM wasn’t technically the correct term for the specific lifestyle most often practiced at Power Exchange, but most people didn’t really know the difference between BDSM and D/s.  BDSM meant Bondage Domination Sadism and Masochism.  D/s meant Domination and Submission; a short hand term for a variety of power exchange relationships.  Those ensconced in the alternative lifestyles often argued about distinctions and differences and participated in escalating online ‘flame wars’.  The differences were extensive while minute and worthy of discussion once one entering the lifestyle.  But for this event, marketing issues weren’t as focused on reality and since BDSM was more recognized as a short hand, so the party was designated for the more publicly, less accurate group.

Those issues weren’t at the front of the thought of the “vanillas” or normal people, who were freaked out by the freaks and trolled the store, self-consciously worried they might find or be found by a neighbor.  The question that kept knocking on the inside of Victoria’s forehead, and made her smile, was, if the average couple, found their neighbor around the next sex toy rack, would each be more embarrassed than the other and would they be able to look at each other the same way at the kid’s bus stop the next Monday?

Victoria noticed it was nearing starting time, when yet another couple entered.  They both wore raincoats, like many of the other guests.  Arm in arm, they approached the greeter’s table.  The woman deftly removed a supple leather hood from her coat pocket and put it over the head of the male who was obviously the submissive of this couple.  These two, certainly knew exactly what they were doing, thought Victoria, they completely avoided the bus stop problem.  With practiced flair the dominant woman clipped a worn lead to a new leather neck collar on her submissive.  The man trembled at the click of the lead.  Victoria knew the man was a new pet but predicted he would soon be a slave.  

As Victoria focused on the man, the woman quickly slid an eye mask on her face.  Victoria hated that she was losing her edge by missing the details of the faces.  She felt she had lost the street edge she had developed as a beat cop and then as a detective.  But right now, she had a class to give and customers to evaluate for admission to the club.

Since, she didn’t feel she was being a good cop; she became a great advocate for mainstream BDSM, and said to the couple, “You don’t have to be shy.  Once you are in the lifestyle for a while you will learn that we all protect each other pretty well.”  Victoria desperately hoped she could keep that promise to every client in her club.
     
The woman nodded nervously.  Victoria’s curiosity stirred at seeing nerves in a woman so obviously practiced in dominance.  Little warning sounds began in the back of Victoria’s head.  She decided to spend a few precious moments confirming or disproving or at least dissuading her gnawing fears.  She gave the couple her, ‘I’m not a detective, I am a trainer’ smile and continued, “Give it time and you will be making new friends.  At Power Exchange, we carefully screen everyone so you are in a safe environment.”

The man nodded, obviously having been instructed only to speak to his Owner when she spoke to him.  The woman, kept playing the nervous card and nodded, moving to the middle of the crowd.  Once surrounded by players in costume and farther from Victoria, the woman raised the hood of the man, kissed him and whispered, “See Baby, told you we would get in without any suspicion.”

Eddie stood stock still while Sara adjusted his mask to better see his eyes.  His lips were all that were uncovered and he said, “I love it when your plans come together.”  

Sara, looked into the leather eye holes with true affection for her soon to be slave and said, “Eddie, baby, Let’s hunt.”  She jerked his leash and he joyfully followed after asking, “Hunt playmates?”

An almost orgasmic tone lilted to Eddie’s ears and warmed him even more than the words chilled him, she whispered, “Nick was fun, wasn’t it? “

He asked, “Baby, are you still happy about that?”

Sara pulled him close and kissed him gently. “Are you?”

Eddie worried about how Sara made him think.  She insisted he consider things he didn’t care to.  He felt like he was growing into himself, but like the beatings they exchanged, he loved it and hated it both.   After suitable consideration, Eddie said, “He deserved it, right?”

Sara was non-committal, “Does that matter?”

Eddie picked up a new leather mask; held it up to his face as if one was not enough to protect him.

“Yes.  I think he did, and Sara, I think you think he did too.”

Sara’s face registered disappointment, “Do you think Candy deserved it?”

Eddie could feel his anger and hurt from Candy’s statements about his professional development and lazy attitude reheat, “She did kind of ask for it.”

Sara stroked Eddie’s leather cheek, “Of course she did.  So, tell me, Pet, was the fact that she earned it, the, “interesting” part, or was it the event?

He cringed, “Saying it was interesting makes me feel evil.”

Sara grabbed a whip off a sales table, waved it near Eddie and said, “See how many normal people are interested in pain here?  These people are just outside the main stream for sexual behavior, and we are just outside the main stream these people flow with.  The truth is, Nick wanted that outcome, or he wouldn’t have sat in that chair.  I, we, just helped him.”

She looked kindly but firmly into Eddie’s eyes once again.  She was so good at controlling people with direct eye contact.  It worked on Eddie.  She lowered her tone and meter to draw Eddie’s attention even deeper, “I felt how excited you were during the bagging and Baby; that was more than ok, it was spectacular.”  Then she offered her strongest weapon she could use in public, “I am so pleased with you, so very, very pleased.”

Even while he tingled from the praise he found himself telling the truth.  This woman was so amazing and special, he had come to the point he just couldn’t manage to lie to her like all the other women in his past and admitted, “Me getting hard was … wrong, I think.”

Sara snapped back, “What was wrong, us spending the entire night fucking with him still in the chair?  It’s what he would have wanted.  Trust me.  I only do what people want.  What you want.  You have to accept what you are.”  Her face showed that Eddie’s doubts were killing her sex buzz and he would have even more work to do when they got home.

He tried to get her smile back, “If I enjoy it; that makes me something bad.”

Sara shuffled through a cornucopia of sex toys like she wanted to end this little session.  She conceded in tone and statement, “It makes you honest.  That’s rare and good to a point.”  She reached down to Eddie’s crotch and distracted him with a few firm strokes. “You’re hard just talking about it.  I really like that too.  In a short time your willingness will grow as easy as your cock.”  

Eddie adjusted his pants until he looked around and saw that he wasn’t the only man in the area sporting obvious wood, “Being here with you is what made me hard.”

Sara flared again, “Don’t lie to me and most of all don’t lie to yourself.”

Eddie weighed this in his head, picked up a large dildo, weighed that in his hand, then threw it down.  He cautiously picked up a knife play set and said, “I’m not sure what I am yet.”  He was surprised to feel himself get harder.  

Back at the entrance, Victoria watched Robert walk uncomfortably into the store.  He looked like just another guy in a fetish costume, leather and all.   He looked almost shamed, and ashamed of the act of being ashamed.  Robert finally spotted Victoria and scooted over to her.  She couldn’t hide her delight.  She offered up a sly glance and said, “You weren’t scheduled to work this.”

Robert fussed, “You told me to have more fun.  Why not try to have fun at work?”

Victoria felt him looking dangerously close into the places she hid even from herself.  Suddenly she wanted to sprint for the stage and get away from the scary emotions broiling inside her.  It was much easier to talk about whips, paddles, trust and sharing sex, than it was to feel the stirrings in her chest.  Hell, she thought, it would be easier to just be wet and horny for this boy rather than was she knew was developing in her heart.

Out of nowhere, salvation sauntered up and froze Victoria’s mind.  She was a dazzling and almost impossibly leggy blonde who, in just strolling up, was able, with just bestowing a glance, to stop time for everyone within ten feet.  Victoria let the word ‘captivating’ swim to her consciousness, where that description was too small, too weak and the word instantly drowned in the swirling whirlpool of the blonde’s staggering allure.

Victoria wasn’t usually attracted to other women. She had never really considered herself anything more than a professional, pay for play, bi-sexual leaning gal.  Sure, she had plenty of female clients, but then she didn’t have sex with any client, be they straight, bi or a couple just trying out new things.  She had kissed more than one woman, but never with the same passion with which she had even the least of her few male lovers.  To be fair, it would be better to kiss a pig than her ex-husband, but he was a pig, so that was a wash.  

Victoria’s musing stopped dead in her mind, as the devastating blonde snuggled up to Robert and every so lightly brushed his arm with just the barest edge of her perfectly formed breasts.  The smoldering heat of this almost Amazonian vixen took in Victoria.  The collective breath of every man and woman in the room grew deeper and warmer as she walked by and now she was trying to light Robert’s ember.

Victoria knew that the professional dominatrix comes in all sizes and shapes.  There is a fiercely devoted group of a submissive client for every physical trait of Domme.  Some submissives love and are devoted to diminutive Dommes, or those ranging from short to midget; chubby chasers seek extremely obese women;  some seek dark or light; sweet or rubenesque, harsh or anorexic, or some thrill to women with enormous breasts that are obviously fake.  There is a body to fill any need and that was good for business.  

Victoria was accepting and encouraging of these specialists.  Having women of all shapes, sizes served to empower every type of girl; but, this woman was different.  This woman was perfect beyond reason, as if designed by agreement between heaven and hell.  She was tall, full breasted with round sensual hips to offset.  She had a tight, but somehow bouncy butt that managed to show, even in costume, that she was equal parts firm muscle and jiggling flesh.  Her hair flowed like a nineteen-forties pin up girl, making the older males wonder why they had ever felt that Veronica Lake had great hair.  The body was just a smoke screen.  It was her face, her smile, her eyes that looked in your soul and drew you into her existence.  She made you wonder if you had ever drawn a breath that mattered without her near.  It felt like every being in the store vibrated with extra life, as the blonde passed.  That was too much temptation for everyone, especially Victoria’s sweet Robert.  

Victoria and the blonde’s eyes locked; both of them completely absorbed in evaluation of each other.  The length of the gaze left the more literate of the group to wonder which of the women would survive this moment or would they clash and in perfect unison cease to exist except in legend?

The woman gave Robert an overt once over and patted his butt.  On her left ring finger was silver and black ring with little hand cuffs inset into the band.

The woman’s voice was soft and teasing without trying, “I could work with you Sweetie, anyone own you yet?”

Robert blushed, but kept an impassive face, “I’m not….I’m new…I’m just shopping.”

Victoria watched as the blonde’s smile almost brought him to his knees.  

The blonde appraised Robert anew and gave a sultry reply, “Me too.”

Robert shuffled and desperately looked to Victoria for a lifeline.

Victoria resisted her instant desire for the woman.  The moment of overwhelming heat from the blonde, having been right on the stiletto heels of Victoria’s moment of weakness of visualizing Robert in a more controlled environment, such as her bedroom, was a double tap that would have killed a lesser woman.  

Instead, Victoria took Robert’s trembling hand and brought him across the Dom demarcation line that been drawn, like an invisible electric fence between the blonde and Victoria.  In firm voice, Victoria said, “He’s a bit young for you, Sweetie.”

The woman just winked, for god sake she winked, she really winked and it … it worked, she almost shrugged, “Youth has its good points.”

Robert seemed more embarrassed than his boss; as if having a woman rescue him wouldn’t be tolerated by any of the generations of men, who had so thoughtfully moved toward the future by being kind enough to inseminate countless women over the family’s generations.

Robert straightened like a castle guard trying for humor, “Hey, I’m just here for work and I work for Victoria.”

The woman confidently locked eyes with Victoria again, and said, as if ordering ice cream, “Me too.  I’m a pro.”

Robert jumped in where more experienced men would fear to tread, right between two beautiful women, “You’re not a hooker.  I’ve seen those before.”

Victoria tossed Robert a questioning glance.  While he considered how that statement might be misperceived, he listened to Victoria again, “You’ve seen hookers?… hmmmmmm.”

He stood his ground, “She isn’t paid for sex.  That’s all I’m saying.”

Victoria nodded to him, but kept her eyes on the newcomer, “She means she is a professional dominatrix.”

The blonde finally introduced herself, “My name is Donna, and yes, I’m paid for pain.”  The certainty of the admission, its casual tone, said like, I sell insurance, simply added gravitas to the introduction.   “I’m really here to see about the club and see if you are seeking another dominatrix.”

Victoria switched into her club owner mind set and finally felt control returning.  Work was easy, lust and love were not, and between Robert and Donna, she had huge helpings of both to ignore until she could resist them.  

Donna seemed to sense the evaluation and gave a courtesy spin and locked eyes with Victoria. While the adorable guard boy swooned and Victoria clearly lusted, Donna eyes locked with her stunning counterpart and potential employer.  The moment was both an eternity and an instant.  They both liked what they saw

Victoria propelled Donna away from Robert, “Perhaps, when I am done with the training, we should talk.”  Donna volleyed back, “How about we cut to the chase.”  Robert tried to wander away but couldn’t take his eyes off Donna, from want or Victoria from devotion.  Victoria quickly sized up the moment.  The crowd could shop a bit more.  “I always start a dominatrix as a freelance.”

Donna negotiated, “Ok, you take part of my fees, supply room time, maybe some client hours and see how I work out?

Victoria’s smile made the offer before her words, “Right.”

Donna closed the initial deal, “I can work with that.”

Victoria moved closer, “We always stay within the law, always.”

Donna said, “Robert seems to think I am not a working girl.  And I am not.  Never have been, never will be.”

Victoria tossed her a “don’t mess with the boss look”, which made Donna smile back.  Donna’s face betrayed her, showing that she was as enthralled with Victoria as Victoria was with Donna.  Donna completed the deal, “I’m careful as a nun in a porn store.”

Victoria laughed and pointed at a woman in a nun’s habit who held a giant fake penis, “Be at least as careful as she is.  Come see me at the club tomorrow. “

Robert hadn’t taken his eyes off the pair and Donna took advantage by flashing him a devastating smile and headed for the door.  Victoria saw the lingering leer from Donna.  

From a table filled with bondage toys, Sara had seen the entire exchange and found both women to be enticing.  She nudged Eddie in the ribs.  It wasn’t necessary; he had watched the women and it simply made his obvious erection even harder.

Victoria headed to the microphone chucking, “OK folks, lets get the demonstration started.  I’m Goddess Victoria and I am going to have to spank anyone who doesn’t pay attention or pays for it.”

The crowd laughed but paid rapt attention.  The heat in the store rose with anticipation.