Chapter One

         Adrienne's heart hammered in her chest as she ran barefoot along the shoreline of Santa Monica with her running shoes in hand. Her thighs burned as she slowed down to take in the sunset on her favorite rock amidst the lazy evening tide. People took no notice of her as she perched on the rock as close to the water as she could, dipping her toes in as the sky changed colors before her eyes. Light blue seemed to magically melt into an ocean of orange dusted with wispy, lavender clouds that grew a bit more of a dusky purple as the sun cast the sky into a beautiful shade of pink. As the sun began to sink into the ocean the beach had grown still and quiet. Locals and tourists alike, had stopped along the beach to watch the sun call it quits for the day; groups of friends talked quietly, as couples held each other as the last light of day slowly began to shrivel into the horizon.
         Adrienne let out a dreadful sigh as she watched the last of the dying star disappear and walked along the beach not wanting to return to her apartment, knowing Jaxon would be livid that she was out after dark. Adrienne hated her fiance, she had wanted to call the whole marriage off but he had threatened to kill her if she tried, and from past beatings so brutal she had wound up in the hospital a few times, she believed him. She trudged slowly through the sand to the boardwalk where she laced her shoes back up and headed for home.
         She took shortcuts and weaved down alleyways to get home faster; every minute she was late making his dinner was a slap or a punch that she would endure afterward. She saw Jaxon's Range Rover parked on the street and pushed herself harder and faster and only slowed when she was in front of their door. Adrienne swallowed hard as she pushed the door open as quietly as she could, hoping Jaxon had just gotten in, but she knew better than that. Jaxon had gotten home at his usual six o'clock, and Adrienne was almost forty five minutes late starting dinner. She walked in to find Jaxon sitting in his stiff-backed chair with a glass of scotch, watching some old football game. Jaxon didn't move or acknowledge Adrienne as she came in, so she closed the door as quietly as she could behind her, hoping he wouldn't hear.
         "Where have you been?" Jaxon's voice was calm, but she knew there was a storm raging just beneath that velvet facade.
         "Just went for a run," Adrienne explained as she opened the fridge to grab a water bottle, but when she closed it, Jaxon was standing there; she hadn't even heard him move. She looked up at him to see that his expression was blank, but his eyes were full of anger, and Adrienne shrank back, trying to make herself small, but the small kitchen didn't allow much movement. Jaxon grabbed her by the neck and shoved her against the counter, surely bruising her hip and grabbed a knife from the knife block behind her and held the point under her breast. The knife was positioned so that when her chest rose and fell with her labored breathing, due to Jaxon's grip on her throat, the sharp tip pushed painfully into the soft skin of her breast.
         "Please Jaxon," Adrienne begged, as she clawed at the massive hand around her throat, "I'm sorry. I've just been so tired lately, but I need to get my exercise in."
         "You need to be home before dark," he said, a bit more anger in his tone now as he moved the knife to the top of her breast and slowly began to drag it down the curve hard, slicing her slowly and deeply.
         Adrienne bit her lip to keep from hissing in pain because he'd just revel in it and make it that much more painful, but biting her lip didn't keep the tears from welling in her eyes. She squirmed in his grasp and he smiled wickedly as large, crimson beads formed along the swell of her breast and began to form a thick rivulet that trickled slowly into her cleavage. Adrienne tried desperately to blink the tears away, but they had already swelled too large and spilled down her cheeks. Jaxon pulled her forward and slammed her back into the overhead cabinet, knocking her head against it pretty hard, but not hard enough to knock her out, which was unusual. Jaxon let go of her neck, but the knock to her head had made her a bit dizzy and she stumbled, barely catching herself on the counter in time.
         "Now," he said as he slid the knife under her sports bra and sliced it right down the middle so her breasts bounced out, yanking it off of her body, "make my dinner."
Adrienne nodded and quickly went to the fridge to grab some chicken to make in her Alfredo sauce as Jaxon went back to the living room to nurse his glass of scotch. As the chicken cooked Adrienne cleaned herself up, bandaged the slice on her breast, and headed toward the bedroom to grab a shirt, but saw Jaxon's head turn.
         "I know you're not going to leave dinner unattended on the stove" he said as he brought his glass to his lips, the honey-colored liquid disappearing between them.
         "I-I was just g-grabbing a shirt," she stammered softly as she rubbed her arm.
         Jaxon smiled that evil grin of his and shook his head, "Oh no, my love. You're going to be naked when I eat dinner. You won't be dining with me this evening. So get back to the kitchen and finish making my dinner. You're going to be my table."
         Adrienne's frown deepened and she bit her lip, "I-I don't understand."
         "You will," he said as the last of the scotch slid down his throat and the ice clinked in the bottom of the glass, "now, get back in the kitchen, before you make me do something rash."
         Adrienne went back to the kitchen and added heavy cream, cream cheese, and Parmesan, as well as some garlic and parsley to the chicken as she blanched some zoodles she had leftover and finished making dinner. She brought Jaxon his plate, which he all but snatched from her and he handed her his scotch glass.
         "Get me more scotch," he said and smacked her ass as she turned toward the kitchen, "and grab the bag of rice from the pantry and bring it to me."
         Adrienne topped off his glass of with scotch, confused as to why he wanted it, but grabbed the bag of rice from the pantry and returned to him. She placed the glass on a coaster and handed the bag of rice over to him, which he sliced open with his knife and dumped all over the floor much to her dismay.
         "Strip," he commanded harshly and loudly, making Adrienne jump, but she quickly did as she was told. Jaxon pointed his gaze toward the rice on the floor and nodded, "On all fours."
         Adrienne realized now what he had meant by her being his table. She groaned silently in her head as she knelt on the rice and dropped to her hands. She felt a sharp pain in her buttock as he slapped it hard and placed his hot plate on her back. Adrienne whimpered as silently as she could from the rice digging into her knees and palms, the plate burning her back. Jaxon set his glass of scotch on her lower back forcing Adrienne to arch her back up to make sure it didn't spill.
         "If anything spills," Jaxon started, "I will kick you in the ribs. Understood?"
         Adrienne nodded and kept her back arched up so it remained as flat as possible nothing would fall. Her eyes began to water as her knees pushed painfully against the rice. She could sort of maneuver her fingers between the grains and push herself up onto them to give her palms a break but if her knees came up off the ground, Jaxon would know. Jaxon grabbed the plate and got up to set it on the counter, meaning he was finished with his dinner, but he had not removed his scotch glass which meant he wasn't done using her yet. Adrienne tried to relax her arched back but felt the squat glass begin to tip and corrected herself as Jaxon came back from the kitchen and sat back in his chair, grabbing his glass, and kicked his heavy heels up onto her back, using her as a footrest as he sipped his scotch and continued watching the game.
         Adrienne let her back sag and Jaxon moved one foot under her tummy and pushed up hard, letting her know that even though there was nothing on her back to fall anymore, that she was not to relax, and she resumed her position. Adrienne saw the tears fall between the grains of rice on the floor before she felt them and hid quickly behind her hair before Jaxon saw, but she knew he would anyway. Jaxon stood up, untied his tie, and grabbed Adrienne by her arm and pulled her swiftly up off the floor, bringing her close to his chest, smiling at the tears in her eyes that she hadn't been able to blink away before he'd yanked her to her feet, making the bandage on her breast come undone a bit.
         "Don't worry, Addy," he said as he lifted her chin with his finger, "we're going to have some fun now."
         Adrienne felt her heart sink; she knew exactly what 'fun' meant. It meant that she would be on her knees, pleasuring him with her mouth, bent over the nearest surface, Jaxon forcing himself into the orifice of his choice. Jaxon turned Adrienne away from him, forced her arms behind her back, and bound her wrists with his tie and pushed her back down onto her knees, the rice digging back into her already tender skin.
         "Please, Jaxon," Adrienne pleaded, looking up at him, "I'm really not in the mood tonight, please."
         Jaxon let out a loud bark of laughter and dropped his pants, "You act as though you had a choice, pretty girl." He gripped the back of Adrienne's head to hold her still as he gripped his erect penis, guiding it to her lips. She tried desperately to turn her head, but he gripped her skull with his large hand and pushed his hips forward to push himself between her lips. Adrienne knew she had mascara running down her face from crying earlier, wondering how Jaxon, must see her looking up at him with his cock in her mouth. He probably thought she looked like one of the girls from the porn he watched when she wasn't around for him to use, but she couldn't keep her eyes from filling with fresh tears again and Jaxon absolutely reveled in it.
         Jaxon gripped Adrienne's head with both hands and moved her mouth up and down on his throbbing member, making her gag and cry harder as she pushed against his hands only to make him push her down harder. Shortly after, he released in her mouth, holding her head with one hand and pinching her nose shut with the other so she had to swallow, then pulled out, leaving Adrienne whimpering on the floor. He bent down to unbind her wrists and yanked her to her feet and shoved her toward the kitchen to clean in while he got ready for bed.
         'That's it?' Adrienne thought to herself with a mental and physical sigh of relief. Normally, Jaxon took Adrienne any which way he pleased. It was odd for him to defile her only once in a single evening, but she'd much rather be cleaning the kitchen than being forced to ride him till he released inside her. Adrienne wanted children, just not Jaxon's; once upon a time maybe, but after years of dating, Jaxon had started to show his true self. Adrienne's brother, Bryson, had introduced them when she was a sophmore in high school and he was senior. He'd been the captain of the football team, he'd bee very popular, and handsome to boot. Adrienne remembered what she'd loved about him: his long dark hair that brushed his shoulders dusted with natural, sun-kissed highlights, beautiful jade-green eyes encased in the most gorgeous lashes that would make any girl jealous, high cheek bones and supple, soft, pink lips. If the man had worn makeup, he'd have been prettier than most girls.
         Adrienne was sure that's what had attracted her to Jaxon. She'd always been afraid to admit it, but she'd never really looked at men in a sexual light until Jaxon; she'd only ever really looked at girls. She loved long, dark hair, soft supple skin, child-bearing hips, bountiful breasts. She loved that fact that Jaxon had a few girlish attributes which made her think she could give a boy a try, and the fact that he had a penis would make her parents happy and hopeful for future grandchildren. She couldn't tell her friends that though, she was the captain of the cheer team. She couldn't be gay or at least not acknowledged as such.
         'I regret ever even meeting the bastard now,' Adrienne thought as she cleaned up the dishes from dinner. Jaxon was different in every single way possible now. All of those girlish attributes that she loved so much had vanished over the years. He traded his long locks for a more serious pompadour style when her father had taken him under his wing to be a lawyer for his firm, which Adrienne hadn't minded, he just looked a little more dykey. That had been fine with her, until he'd started growing out his beard and lifting weights. He'd been softer in high school, like a girl, his face, his arms, his tummy everything about him had been much softer. Now he was chiseled, he had angles to his face, he had abs and defined biceps, much, much more hair, on his chest, on his face, everywhere. Adrienne had lost the pretty Jaxon she'd seen herself settling down with.
         He'd always been confident and a bit of an asshole, but this newfound strength and muscles and whatnot had turned him into a complete monster. He had never shown this side of himself until he'd asked her to marry him, which even then, they had been very, very young and Jaxon had looked much more feminine to her, so she'd agreed to wed. She didn't know the man who had just forced himself into her mouth. That man was a complete stranger to her and had been for quite awhile.
         Adrienne shook her head to clear the memories from it as she put the last of the dishes and leftovers away and headed for the shower just as Jaxon walked out in a towel. She looked up at him and he raised a brow as if to ask what she was looking at and shoved past her into their bedroom. Adrienne grabbed a towel and washcloth and started up the shower, making it boiling hot, wanting to wash off Jaxon's germs, knowing she could never feel clean until she left him. if she could ever leave him. As she waited for the water to get hot, she peeled off the bandage she had made for her wound. She was surprised the bleeding was as minimal as it was, it had seemed pretty deep, but there were just a few little beads of blood now. Adrienne got in slid down the wall in the glass box that was the shower and leaned her head back against the glass and cried every tear she hadn't been able to with Jaxon around. She pulled herself together and stood up, tied her hair since she wasn't washing it, and washed up, letting the scalding water rinse the soap from her skin. She grabbed her towel and dried herself vigorously, trying to scrape any away any sin left on her skin. She properly reapplied a bandage to her breast, finished up her bedtime routine and headed for bed.
         Jaxon lay in bed watching television as Adrienne slipped into a pair of silk shorts and matching top and crawled into bed facing the wall. She plugged the charger into her phone and set her alarm for eight since she didn't have a shoot tomorrow, pleading with God to let Jaxon leave her alone and let her sleep. Some god or deity must've heard, because Jaxon simply turned the light off and rolled over to face his wall and before she knew it, he was snoring softly. She let out a sigh of relief and relaxed and, for once, got a good night's sleep.

         Adrienne awoke to empty bed and quiet apartment. She smiled to herself and giggled loudly. She loved being by herself; she craved it. She sat up in her bed and stretched, smiling at herself in the mirror on the wall, loving how brightly she seemed to glow when Jaxon wasn't around to dull her shine. She grabbed her phone and saw that she had a message from her best friend, Skylar.
         Skylar: Hey bitch. I found a club that we should go to tonight.
         Adrienne: Okay, what time did you want to meet?
         Adrienne shed her silk pajamas for leggings and a very breathable tank top and headed toward the living room for a bit of meditation and yoga. After her usual routine of trying to get into a positive head space, she headed to the kitchen to make some breakfast. She grabbed eggs, an avocado and spinach from the fridge and pulled a pan out of the drainboard and placed it on the stove. She cooked down the spinach with a bit of salt, pepper, and garlic while she beat the eggs in a bowl and sliced the avocado. After tossing the eggs into the mixture, she switched on the Keurig and brewed a cup of coffee which she put a splash of heavy whipping cream and a stevia pack or two in. She grabbed her breakfast, coffee, and her phone and went to sit on the couch to watch the news as she enjoyed her breakfast. As she shook her head at whatever Trump was up to now, she heard her phone vibrate with Skylar's reply.
         Skylar: Wanna do your hair and makeup at my place when I get off work around five?
          Adrienne: That sounds good to me. I'll probably be over a little earlier, if that's okay?
         Skylar: You have a key for a reason, girl. Use it. Also, I have a dress for you to wear.
         Adrienne re-read their conversation in the grey and blue bubbles on her screen. Was she really going to go to Skylar's place and a nightclub without telling Jaxon? What would he do to her if she did? Also, how was she supposed to hide the new scar on her breast from Skylar? What if she saw it, and asked what had happened? What would her excuse be? She almost went to text Skylar that she'd changed her mind, but she knew how that would go. Skylar would come and kidnap her, unknowingly getting her into trouble with Jaxon. She put her phone in sleep mode and shook her head. No, she was going to go to the club with Skylar and possibly spend the night there, depending on what time they got back from the club. She would tell Jaxon of her plans, but not until she was safe in Skylar's apartment.
         Adrienne went to shower, still feeling a bit gross from last night's events and wanted to clean up her wound a bit, but this time she brought in her little travel Bose speaker in with her and belted her favorite songs at the top of her lungs. She quickly washed and rinsed, stepping out after only a few minutes and went to get dressed in some short, denim shorts and a loose fitting tank, which she made sure covered up Jaxon's latest gift, paired with a pair of black and pink Vans. She preferred comfort over style when she was off the runway, but with Jaxon, she always needed to look like a model. He usually picked her outfits for her: designer everything from jeans to shirts to jackets and shoes. Her outfits were much simpler, not to mention much more affordable.
         Adrienne had quite a bit of time to kill before she was supposed to meet Skylar, so she called up her mother to see if she was able to grab lunch with her. Her mother agreed to meet her around one thirty which still gave her about an hour and forty five minutes to kill, so she changed into her bikini and tossed her shorts, tank, and a towel into her knapsack and headed out the door to her favorite spot: the beach. She grabbed her keys off the bar and locked the door behind her, unlocking her gorgeous Audi R8 Spyder. She slid onto the seat, the leather warm underneath her bare thighs, as she started the beautiful vehicle.
The car roared to life under her like a mighty beast exuding it's dominance, then purred as she idled in the garage underneath the apartment and put the car into gear and pulled out onto the main street.
         It seemed like it had taken no time and pure muscle memory getting to her favorite spot in Venice. She locked her car and walked over to a van in the lot that offered surf lessons and board rentals, to rent a surfboard and headed toward the water. She toed her shoes off, along with her socks, and tucked her car key into the left shoe and placed them next to her knapsack, grabbed the board and headed for the water. She tossed the board onto the waves and jumped on belly-first and began paddling out into the deeper water. It was the middle of a Wednesday, there were barely any surfers on the waves. It was quiet, and for some reason Adrienne felt right at home bobbing among the white caps. She looked behind her as she felt the waves begin to pull back a bit stronger than they had before and noticed a decent wave forming and began paddling into it and threw herself up onto the board and rode it out.
         Adrienne ran her hand along the water as she glided through on her board and just let the current carry her until she fell back into the water. She came up and checked her watch for the time and decided to catch another wave or two before heading to the showers to rinse off. After a few more waves, Adrienne rode one in to the beach, stuck her board in the sand and picked up her knapsack to retrieve her towel to lay and dry out on, and a small tin, full of pre-rolled joints. She plucked a doobie from the tin along with the lighter she kept there, sparked it and took a nice long drag. She focused on her exhale, letting the last of the tension that her surf session hadn't extinguished, out with a huge cloud of smoke. She felt the beads of water that coated her skin, bake away in the late morning sun, and stood up and wrung the last bit of water from her hair, swung her knapsack onto her back and grabbed the board and headed back toward the rental van. She dragged a few more puffs of the joint then handed the rest to some teenage boys that were gawking at her as she strode past.
         After returning the board, Adrienne walked toward the showers to rinse the sand off of her and to change her clothes to go meet her mother. She wrung out her bathing suit as best she could, thankful that she always had a plastic grocery bag on hand to keep her wet belongings in, and changed into her tank and shorts, slipping her socks and shoes back on. After changing, she headed back out into the sun toward her car. The teenage boys that she had given her joint to were standing around her car taking it in, taking pictures of it, and posing with it. Adrienne raised her brow, hearing one of them say, "Dude, it's the chick who gave you the J."
         The boys all turned in unison as she stood waiting for them to move, but they didn't seem to understand why she was just standing there. Adrienne cleared her throat and held the car key up and hit the unlock button, making the boys put two and two together.
         "If you boys will excuse me," she chuckled, "I have somewhere to be."
         The boys stumbled over themselves as they watched her slide into the leather seat, obviously having never seen a woman with such a beautiful, powerful car before. She pushed the button starting up the engine and threw the car in gear, leaving the boys staring off after her lustfully in her rear view. She sped down the street and parallel parked in front of a small pressed juice shop called Kreation Kafe. Her mom sat at a table in a nice, shaded area in the outdoor dining area. She went and tossed her bag in her chair and hugged her mother tightly. Unlike when she was a teenager, all she seemed to do any more was miss her mother.
         "Hi sweetie," her mother said with a genuine, cheerful smile, "I ordered us both that meltdown salad you like. You know, the one that has the green dressing?"
         "That sounds perfect mom," Adrienne smiled, "thank you. What do i owe you? I didn't call and ask you to lunch so that you could pay."
         "My treat," her mother shook her head and held up her hand as their salads were delivered to their table by a pretty waitress, with long auburn hair and green eyes that Adrienne couldn't help but wink at, making the girl giggle softly, hoping her mother mother hadn't noticed. The girl asked if there was anything else she could get for them, and with a polite decline from both Adrienne and her mother, she was gone.
         "So," her mother started, "have we been thinking about a date for the wedding? You two have been engaged for almost a year and half, Addy."
         The question made Adrienne begin to pick at her food; she didn't want to think, let alone talk, about Jaxon right now. She wanted to tell her mother the truth, but she didn't want to seem weak, or worse, put her mother and herself in a bad position, knowing how violent Jaxon had become just in the past couple of years. She wasn't sure if Jaxon would hurt her mother, but she knew for a fact that if she ever told anyone what Jaxon had been doing to her and they were stupid enough to not tie her down and let her go back to him, that she'd hospitalize her again.
         "Adrienne," her mother said, taking her hand to bring her back to the present, "are you okay, dear?"
         "Yeah, ma," she nodded as she took a bite of her salad, "I'm okay. I don't know about a date yet. Jaxon and I have been so busy that we really haven't had time to discuss one."
         Her mother nodded and, thankfully, dropped the subject and they finished their meal with much lighter discussions. Adrienne pushed her bowl away and rubbed her full tummy, letting out a small burp. Receiving a glare of disapproval from her mother.
         "Adrienne Marie," her mother scowled, "I raised you with better manners than that."
         "Sorry mom," Adrienne chuckled as the auburn-haired beauty came to take their dishes with a chuckle as she heard Adrienne's burp, making her blush.
         "Take your pepper spray with you tonight when you go to the club with Skylar," her mother warned with a kiss on her forehead as they left the restaurant, "you don't want to wind up on the news."
         Adrienne rolled her eyes, but knew that her mother wasn't joking and nodded, "I promise I will take it with me."
         Her mother nodded and hugged her, telling Adrienne she had to be getting back to work. Adrienne nodded and waved to her mother as she drove off down the strip and went to get into her own car. It was only about two forty five now: still almost two hours before Skylar would be off work, but she figured she could get to Skylar's place early and nap before they left. The joint had made her a bit sleepier than she had anticipated that it would. She pulled out her phone and texted Skylar that she was about to head over. Skylar replied with a simple smiley face and the short phrase: 'Mi casa, su casa.'
         Adrienne smiled and revved up the R8 and sped off down the main road toward Skylar's apartment. The fact that she needed to text Jaxon that she was going out tonight and that she may or may not be coming home, nagged at the back of her mind as she drove. She promised herself that after her nap that she would text him. Adrienne parked on the street in front of the building and headed up to Skylar's apartment. She turned the key in the lock and walked in, breathing in the fragrant air from the plug-ins that graced the outlets of her walls. Adrienne locked the door behind her and dropped her knapsack just inside the door and headed straight for Skylar's bedroom. Skylar must have gotten up late because her bed was unmade, an unusual feat for Skylar. Adrienne shrugged and crawled into Skylar's bed and almost passed out almost instantly.

         Adrienne realized that she'd forgotten to set an alarm, when she was shaken awake by Skylar.
         "You okay?" she asked in a concerned tone, "you never sleep that heavy."
         Skylar and Adrienne had slept together, in the same bed, for years now, ever since they'd become best friends back in high school. She knew that Skylar could sleep through a hurricane, and Skylar knew that Adrienne could barely sleep through a mouse squeak. Just about any sound woke Adrienne effortlessly, so when she hadn't woken up when Skylar came in, it had obviously worried her friend.
         "Y-yeah, I'm fine," Adrienne muttered groggily, "I smoked a fatty before i came over. It hit me a little harder than I had expected."
         Skylar chuckled and went to grab her bong off her night stand and packed the bowl.
         "Well let's get ready shall we?" she chuckled pulling out her huge makeup bag, "you take the first rip, and I'll do your hair and makeup."
         Thankfully, Skylar lived to do hair and makeup; put simply, it was her passion, and she was damn good at it. Adrienne liked to look nice, but she didn't like the time it took to execute it. To Adrienne, life was too short to do your hair and makeup and look amazing all the time, unless it was for work, then that was another story, but for her off days, she loved to let her skin breathe. Adrienne took the bong from Skylar and grabbed a lighter off the nightstand as she walked over to Skylar's vanity, where Skylar had her curling iron and makeup all set up. She flicked the lighter to life and held it to the bowl and inhaled deeply, pulling the slide as she did so and held the smoke in her lungs before letting it blow against the mirror as she handed it to Skylar, who politely refused and set it on the dresser.
         Skylar began to section Adrienne's hair so it'd be easier to work with while Adrienne applied primer to her face and eyelids. Skylar sped through Adrienne's hair with her curling iron as she took another rip off the bong, and ran her fingers through Adrienne's long blonde locks to loosen the curls, spraying them with a firm hairspray. Skylar told Adrienne to turn toward her, and took in Adrienne's face and nodded. She grabbed her Naked: Heat pallet and got to work on Adrienne's eyes, giving her a sexy, smoldering smoky eye. She then applied a pair of lashes, nothing too gaudy, and eyeliner and mascara, then moved onto a tiny bit of contouring. Thankfully, Adrienne already had an amazing facial structure: soft jaw and high cheek bones, so Skylar didn't have much to do in that regard. She finished up Adrienne's make up and went to the closet and brought back a beautiful but short, deep crimson dress with a single, long sleeve, leaving the other arm and shoulder bare. Thankfully the sleeved part was on the side of her wound so she wouldn't have to explain it to Skylar, as much as she hated hiding stuff from her bestie. The dress was gorgeous, but she'd need a strapless bra, which she hadn't packed in her knapsack for the evening.
         "I'm going to need a strapless-," but before Adrienne could finish her sentence, Skylar had one hanging of the tip of her finger with a grin.
         "Now," Skylar said, "get your ass dressed while I do my hair and makeup and we'll get going. You're driving by the way. Pick any pair of heels you'd like from the closet."
         Adrienne nodded and hooked the strapless bra, and adjusted her breasts to show her cleavage, but to hide her bandage. She quickly slid the dress on, trying to be careful of her fresh curls and smoothed the fabric down over her ass and her flat tummy, loving the way it hugged all her curves the right way. She ventured to the closet for some heels and picked a simple yet sexy pair of black stilettos and slipped into them in the closet, walking out in full getup. Skylar turned from her vanity and she heard the click of Adrienne's chosen heels and nodded.
         "Yasss bitch," she cooed approvingly, "work!"
         Adrienne blushed and chuckled, but walked like she was in a runway show and posed as Skylar pretended to take pictures with her air camera. Adrienne bent over the dresser seductively, only to light the bong and take a huge rip, almost coughing herself into oblivion, making them both roll with laughter. She sat on the edge of Skylar's bed after she finished coughing and pulled her phone out to see that Jaxon had texted her: Where are you?
         Adrienne bit her lip and texted back: I'm at Skylar's. I meant to text you earlier, but I fell asleep. We're going to a club this evening. Depending on how late we're out, I might not be home tonight.
         Her phone buzzed in her hand:bYou will regret this decision, Adrienne. You have to come home some time.
         Adrienne turned her phone off and laid it on the dresser, taking another hit from the bong, focusing on the inhale and the exhale, letting the stress nibbling at the back of her brain escape through her nose. Skylar looked over at her and asked if she was okay. Adrienne smiled and nodded as she waited for Skylar to finish up and watched her friend get dressed, biting her lip as she stripped down to nothing but her undergarments. Adrienne couldn't help but notice Skylar's sexy childbearing hips that were just a touch wider than her bountiful bust, but not disproportionate. Adrienne looked away, not wanting to look at Skylar like that; she knew she was straight. She stood up and went to get herself a glass of water as Skylar slid her heels on and followed her into the kitchen for a drink herself.
         "Ready?" she asked as she took a sip of Adrienne's water.
         Adrienne nodded and grabbed her clutch out of her knapsack and they headed out the door and looked over at Skylar as they got to the street.
         "We should take an Uber," Adrienne said, "just in case we drink too much."
         Skylar rolled her eyes but agreed and ordered on on her phone. They looked for Jerry driving a blue Honda Civic and spotted him down the street and walked toward the car. They asked for the driver's name and got in when they confirmed it was their driver. He drove as quickly as you could through Los Angeles, and the girls were at the club in about fifteen minutes. Jerry wished them a good evening and drove off into the night. Adrienne looked up at the club sign which was a simple red sign that read, La Esclava.
         "Uh, a Spanish club?" Adrienne quipped.
         "Not at all," Skylar chuckled as she wrapped her arm around Adrienne's and led her into the club. As they walked in Adrienne began to notice a theme: lots and lots of leather or very little to no clothing at all. She felt her brows furrow the further into the club they went.
         "Uh Skylar," Adrienne continued to look around accidentally bumping into a overly hairy man in a leather harness, apologizing quickly as Skylar dragged her deeper into the club's depths, "what exactly does La Esclava translate to?"
         "The slave," she chuckled as they made their way to the bar. Adrienne perched on one of the stools and set her clutch in her lap, ordering a cranberry vodka. She draped one leg over the other looking over at Skylar with a death glare. Skylar smiled and winked at her.
         "I hate you," Adrienne informed her, making Skylar burst out laughing.
         "Oh come on," she said, shoving Adrienne's shoulder softly, "don't be such a stick in the mud. Unlike guys at school, these guys understand what the word 'consent' means. They're not going to touch you if you don't want them to."
         Adrienne nodded, knowing they both had gone through their own sexual trauma with boys in high school, but they had cried together, screamed together, held each other and got through it together and left in the past, far behind them.          "Okay," Adrienne agreed, "I'll give it a chance, I suppose, but what exactly are we supposed to do?"
         "I don't know," Skylar chuckled, "I think there's some type of performance tonight: shibari. I think it's bondage or something."
         Just then the house lights dimmed and a small stage, that Adrienne had completely overlooked, was illuminated in soft light and two women entered. One of the women was pretty and naked with long red hair and porcelain white skin. Her breasts were small and her nipples were peaked from the chill in the room. The other woman, though, was absolutely gorgeous. She was a beautiful brunette with lush, crimson lips, a long, swan-like neck that slid gracefully down into an eye-catching set of bountiful breasts that plunged into a tight, leather dress that gripped her curves accentuating them in such a way that made her body look almost fluid. Adrienne couldn't keep her eyes from flowing down that fluid body to the woman's smooth legs, most of which were encased in knee high leather, high-heeled, stiletto boots. There were no introductions, no exchange of words, and barely any sound as the two began their performance and a hush fell over the club.
         The woman in the dress had a small satchel at her hip and several bunches of rope over her shoulder that swayed as she walked around her subject and somehow, without words and with barely even a look, exuded her dominance over the girl. She placed a hand on the girls shoulder, and without coercion or hesitation, the girl dropped lightly to her knees. The woman stood in front of the girl, but off to the side enough that the crowd could see that she tapped a long, red, manicured fingernail under the girl's chin. The girl opened her mouth, as if on cue, and the dressed woman pulled some kind of contraption from her bag that looked like a ball between two straps of a tiny belt. The woman then placed the ball between the girl's teeth, and secured it at the nape of her neck. It was a gag, Adrienne realized, feeling her panties grow a bit damp as she imagined herself at this woman's mercy. She found herself absolutely craving it.
         The woman took one of the several loops of rope off of her shoulder and found the bite of the rope and set it between her shoulder blades, bringing the rope around, under the woman's breasts, and pulled the ends through the loop at her back. She then worked it back around, under her arms, but over her breasts, and wove the ends back through the loop once more. Adrienne watched the woman work swiftly to create a sort of pentagram over the girl's chest, and when the harness was complete, she pulled the young woman's arms behind her back and began binding them. She then used the harness to lower the woman onto her stomach, placing her head on a little pillow as she hogtied her ankles and wrists.          Adrienne was so engrossed in the artistry of the woman's rope work, that she barely noticed that the club had gotten a little bit louder as people began to whisper, still remaining polite as the performance went on. She also hadn't noticed that Skylar had sneaked off somewhere with a few people, and she was completely alone at the bar. The dominatrix was massaging the bound woman as if preparing her for something. She pulled a small bottle from her satchel and squeezed a bit onto her fingers, which she then used to massage the girl's anus. Adrienne wasn't usually into anal stuff, but this woman made it look absolutely tantalizing. From offstage, some guy handed the woman a long metal hook with a ball on the end of it. She nodded and turned back to her subject and knelt between her spread legs and gently pushed the ball into her anus with barely any hesitation. The young woman was so relaxed as the domme gently pulled her head back by her hair and tied it around the loop, so every time she moved her head even slightly it would make the hook go in deeper. It seemed devious and twisted, but oh so fun, Adrienne thought to herself.
         The woman slowly began to undo the tresses she'd just made, freeing the girl slowly. As Adrienne watched, the girl's reaction seemed excited and needy, even more so than before she'd been tied up. Her overall demeanor was relaxed under her excitement, but the goosebumps that had risen wherever the rope had left, told a different story, as did her engorged nipples. As the leather-clad woman continued to unravel her masterpiece, Adrienne overheard a few people talking quietly close by.
         "I love her rope work," one said admiringly.
         "She's talented," one agreed, "could you imagine if she'd actually include suspension, though?"
         "That's all her performances lack to me," the third said.
         The two finished their performance with slight bows and received claps and cheers from the crowd. The woman scanned the room, but didn't seem to find what she was looking for until her eyes met Adrienne's. Adrienne couldn't tell but she swore that she saw a smile flash across those luscious lips for just an instant and felt her own breasts grow heavy in her dress and her legs press tightly together, as if of their own accord. The woman was obviously a regular as she made her way slowly but surely to the bar people patted her on the back and congratulated her on a job well done, some made suggestions on how to make the show better and what she could do to spice it up, and others praised her rope work and artistry. Adrienne saw her mouth move, but couldn't hear her voice, but for some reason, she ached to hear it. Confused and frustrated about the feelings she was experiencing, Adrienne turned around on her stool and ordered another cranberry vodka.
         "Make that two," sang a sultry, sexy voice, "and just put them both on my tab, Roxy."
         Adrienne bit her lip and knew that she didn't have to turn her head to know to whom the voice belonged; her soaked panties were the only indication she needed. She turned toward the melodic sound anyway, to at least thank the woman for the drink, and came face to face with the dark-haired beauty and her tongue went slack in her mouth as her jaw dropped to the floor; she was even more beautiful up close. Beautiful honey-brown eyes, where encased in gorgeous, lush lashes devoured by a gorgeous smoky eye, her lush, burgundy lips were all natural, no lip liner to make them look bigger, and it took everything inside of Adrienne to keep her from kissing them.
         "You might want to close your pretty mouth, dear," the woman said, gently pushing her nail under Adrienne's chin to close it for her, "you'll catch flies."
         As soon as the woman's nail had made contact with Adrienne's skin, it burned with desire. The simplest touch had made Adrienne want to just give in to this woman, even though she hadn't asked anything of her yet. She didn't even know her name, but god, did she want to, if for no other reason than to scream it to the ceiling.
         "I-I'm sorry," Adrienne stammered, "th-thank you for the drink."
         The woman let out a hearty laugh that sounded like a wind chime in a gentle breeze, and Adrienne wanted to hear more of it. The bartender brought the two cranberry vodkas to the woman, who slid one to Adrienne and winked.
         "So," she smiled knowingly, "this is your first time to a BDSM club."
         It wasn't a question. The woman plucked the lime from her drink and squeezed it in and gave it a stir, then looked to Adrienne knowingly, but expectant of some sort of reaction, it seemed. Adrienne only nodded, not trusting her mouth wouldn't betray her again.
         "What do you think about what you saw up there?" she asked as she sipped her drink through the tiny black straw.
         "I-I liked it," Adrienne stammered, but felt stupid, because she so much more than liked it, "I-I loved it. It confused me."
         "What about it confused you?" the woman asked as she perched on the stool next to hers, all of her attention focused on Adrienne.
         "It, er," Adrienne bit her lip, looked down at her feet, and blushed, "it aroused me."
         Adrienne looked up at the woman from under her lashes and watched as her confession made her face split slowly into a prideful grin, "Are you upset about that?"
         Still not trusting her voice, Adrienne bit her lip, curled her hair behind her ear, and shook her head. She could feel her thighs squeezing together, almost involuntarily, as if that would dissolve or decelerate the dampness that was consuming her panties. Ever since Adrienne had first heard the woman's voice, the moisture had started to worsen between her legs. Her breasts had continued to swell, her nipples aching for contact, specifically the caress of this woman's fingertips or tongue or, hell at this point, her teeth. Adrienne almost shook her head as if to physically shake the feeling that was beginning to overpower her, but she maintained her composure as best she could.
         "Then I'm very glad that that was the effect that it had on you," she smiled as she eyed Adrienne up and down. Adrienne could feel the woman's gaze slide upward from her stilettos to her painfully rigid legs to Adrienne's untouched drink that she held in her hands in her lap, landing and lingering on her cleavage only to ascend to her neck to her face, and Adrienne's eyes met hers. Steel blue pools met drops of golden honey, and Adrienne's breath caught, quite noticeably, in her throat, and she felt, quite literally, like she was drowning. Adrienne closed her eyes and concentrated, desperately, on trying to breathe, and she felt the woman move a bit closer, but didn't touch her.
         "Take a deep breath," she instructed in the softest, most soothing voice Adrienne had ever heard besides her mother's, "focus on the inhale and hold it for ten seconds."
         The voice in Adrienne's head scoffed in disbelief. Hold her breath for ten seconds? She felt as though she was struggling and gasping for air now; there was no way. But Adrienne did as she was told without falter, breathing in as the woman had instructed, concentrating on the air filtering through her nostrils, down into her lungs, forcing them to expand. She focused on the swell of her lungs and the rise of her chest, steadily holding her breath as she counted to ten.
         "Now, exhale slowly," the woman coaxed softly, "and continue to focus on your breathing and repeat until you calm down a bit."
         Adrienne released the air in a excruciatingly slow exhale, but found herself slowly, but surely feeling calmer and steadier. She deflated her lungs completely, then drew another breath and held it. She repeated the woman's process for a few minutes, and finally relaxed and opened her eyes to see the woman standing closer than she'd expected, but not uncomfortably so.
         "Feel better?" the woman asked, sincere concern in her voice.
         "Yes," Adrienne nodded, "thank you."
         The woman smiled and nodded and looked around noticing how crowded it had gotten, just since she'd ended her performance. She then looked back to Adrienne, who looked genuinely confused as to what she was looking at.
         "Have you eaten?" she asked.
         "No," Adrienne replied, "I haven't."
         "Would you like to go grab some dinner? It's starting to feel a bit claustrophobic in here."