The Pleasures of Summer by Evie Hunter Page B

are no details. I’ll get back to you as soon as I find them.’
    Fuck, fuck, fuck. Flynn found his voice. ‘Don’t bother. I recognize that address. I’ve been there before. Give me ten minutes to change and I’m on my way.’



7
    Summer’s eyes were like saucers as she looked around
Noir
. Her imagination had not done justice to the club. For one thing, it was much bigger than she had been expecting, and much more luxurious.
    Robert had changed his clothes and now he looked every inch the Dom in black leather and boots, with his hair slicked back to show the noble lines of his face. He held Molly’s leash in one hand and a long leather bag in the other. Summer swallowed. She had an idea what was in that bag, and wasn’t sure if she wanted to encounter any of it.
    She’d already noticed that most of the Doms carried a similar bag. Some of them had floggers or paddles in their hands. One corseted Domme also had a tool bag, but hers was being carried by a tall man whose rubber suit left his buttocks exposed.
    Summer meekly followed Robert and Molly, and found herself in a large room, with thick carpets and dramatic artwork on the walls. The music was techno but at a lower volume than she was used to, so that conversation flowed freely.
    ‘I like it,’ she whispered to Molly. ‘I’m not being deafened.’
    ‘It’s so you can hear a safe word.’
    Safe word. Summer swallowed again. This wasn’t a joke.
    People clustered in groups, talking and laughing. It could have been any cocktail party, except for the outfits. James Bond held a glass to Miss Moneypenny’s lips. She couldn’t drink without help as she was kneeling with her hands cuffed behind her back.
    There was a group where everyone wore a rubber version of a military outfit, and a red-haired woman wearing only a pair of outrageously long studded boots served drinks.
    Summer felt overdressed, and was glad of it.
    Robert led them to the bar, where he ordered a glass of vintage champagne for himself and two club sodas for the girls. Summer took a gulp, and then had to fight the urge to sneeze. She gripped the glass tightly as she continued to gaze around.
    A large screen television on the opposite wall showed a black and white vampire film. A man in a leather skirt was tying a woman up, and then attaching the ropes to a ring in the ceiling. Between one breath and the next, she was in suspension, spinning around, and he was encouraging her twirl with a flogger.
    A priest appeared to be hearing confessions on a bench. Whatever the penitent had said obviously called for a lot of contrition, because the ‘priest’ hauled her over his knee and spanked her soundly. Her squeals were ignored by the laughing group.
    A tiny flicker of excitement spread through Summer at the sight. She’d always had fantasies about being spanked, just not by a priest.
    ‘Robert, introduce me to your charming companions,’ said a voice belonging to a tall highwayman.
    Summer froze. Oh no, what if he gave her name? Summer wasn’t such a common name that people were likely to forget it. And her face was famous enough.
    ‘Ladies, allow me to introduce Peter, the scourge of the local heath. Peter, this is Lola and Wild Child.’ Thank god he had used their online names.
    Peter swept his tricorne hat off his head and bowed deeply to both of them. ‘Enchanted. I’m delighted to meet you. I hope we get an opportunity to play at some stage.’ He beckoned over another man, whose costume seemed to be mostly chains, and introduced him as well.
    Summer took another mouthful of soda, her worries easing slightly. The formality and politeness were at odds with her expectations. She had been afraid that as soon as she got into the club, wearing this excuse for a dress, she would be grabbed and groped by strange men. Instead, she was being introduced with a degree of formality that wouldn’t have been out of place at an embassy reception. Although people were doing things which made her