Ian pulled his gaze away from the swelling crowd and looked at the bartender. For a moment, he mused that the young man looked just a bit too young to be in Onyx.

"Water, please."

Without so much as a blink, the bartender reached into one of the coolers and got out a bottle of water. Ian handed him the money and took the water, twisting it open as he waved away the offered change. Then he turned his attention back to the crowd.

For a Wednesday night, Onyx was surprisingly busy. As one of DC's newest up-and-coming clubs, it was proving to live up to the dream David Torin had so many years ago. The man had a streak of pride ten miles wide, but Ian couldn't quite blame him. He'd be just as proud if Onyx had been his dream.

As it was, he was one of the original members, and definitely one of the first Doms. With Onyx catering to some of the city's finest fetish and BDSM enthusiasts, there was always a good crop of men to choose from. Women, too, if that was your thing.

"Ian! Glad you could make it tonight."

"Evening, David." Ian shook David's outstretched hand and smiled.

"I'm surprised to see so many people here tonight. What's going on?"

David leaned close, as if to whisper conspiratorially. "One of the crowd favorites is back on the circuit," he said. "Name's Kale Daniels. He was in a trial contract with Mark, but they just didn't mesh well together. So, Kale's back to playing the club's favorite volunteer sub for public shows."

"Really?" Ian took a drink of water, eyes scanning the crowd for this Kale Daniels. After taking a much-needed vacation from the scene, Ian had completely missed anyone by the name of Kale Daniels, and he surely would have remembered a new sub. "Okay. I give up. Where is he?"

"Up there." David grinned and pointed to the stage just as the spotlights lit up a figure in the middle. Ian nearly dropped his water.

"Interesting." That was about as eloquent as he could get at that moment. Kale Daniels. Barely touching five-and-a-half feet tall, with a trim but muscled build, he was strapped to a St. Andrew's cross, ass facing the rapt audience below. Spiky black hair stood up everywhere, and his golden skin was glazed with sweat that glistened under the white light. Arms trussed above his head, legs spread—God, he was beautiful. Ian just stared. How the Hell had he missed that?

"How old is he?"

"Twenty-four," David said.

"Looking for another Master? Or is he just playing the circuit for now?" Ian couldn't pull away from the sight of that sweet body, spread wide for the entire club to see. Kale had the body, the posture, that many in Onyx would absolutely love to see before them. But, if he was playing the circuit, it was doubtful that Kale would be interested in any of them in private.

"Playing the circuit for now. He came to me after the contract with Mark ended, said he wanted to keep playing but without a Master."

Ian nodded. Yeah, he could see the appeal in that—no bullshit, no strings attached. Just pleasure, pure and simple. He watched as one of the house Doms stepped up beside Kale, one whip hanging from a studded leather belt and a cat-o-nine-tails in his right hand. Judging from the studded belt and the matching harness criss-crossed over the Dom's torso, Ian knew the man.

"This his first time with Alan?"

"Oh, no." David shook his head, though he seemed just as caught up in the scene beginning to play out on the stage. "No, Kale likes the whip, and with you gone, the only other one to give him what he wanted and needed was Alan." David glanced over at Ian in what was clearly a challenge.

"I see," Ian said quietly, sipping his water. He left it at that, content to watch the show before making any sort of decision. Kale Daniels was definitely a beauty, but how he reacted was something completely different. Ian hated unresponsiveness, and if Kale proved to be unresponsive… Well, best to cut his losses there before he got to know the man.

Alan whispered something to Kale and Kale nodded. Hands tightening visibly on the leather ties holding them to the wooden frame of the cross, Kale seemed to tense and relax all at once—if that were possible. Alan stepped back—but left enough room for the crowd to see—and slid the tails of the cat over his left palm. The room fell into an unearthly silence, and the first strike landed.

A collective hiss of breath slid through the crowd and Ian suppressed his own reaction. Fuck. Alan's skill was close to his own, and each hit landed with expert precision. Another blow snapped bright red across Kale's buttocks and the muscles in Kale's arms jumped. A groan somewhere close by met the rock of Kale's hips into the cross.

Sweet Jesus.

Aware of David still watching him, Ian's expression retained a bland edge as he studied the other two men closely. Apparently unresponsiveness wasn't a particular problem for Kale. Not with the way his body arched in expectation of the blow to come, then tried to find relief from the sharp rise of need. Tilting his head slightly, one of Ian's fingers idly tapped at his lips as he continued to watch.

"I know that look," David said, leaning close. "I'd be happy to introduce you when the scene is over."

Alan's whip drew up another brilliant red line across Kale's buttocks. Kale pulled on the restraints, body surging instinctively upward.

Ian rarely showed a great deal of interest in anything around him, and he wasn't about to start now. Glancing over at David, Ian gave him a noncommittal answer. "If you want to."

When Alan coiled his whip, the silence in the room was deafening.

"Come."

With that one word, Kale's head fell back and he cried out, body shaking as his seed spilled onto the stage. A ripple of groans followed, moving through the crowd in response.

The instantaneous response to the one word intrigued Ian, more so because no touch seemed to be required. His gaze followed the quivering line of the sub's body. "He is a beautiful creature, I will agree to that, David." A faint smile curled his lips as his gaze stayed on Kale.

"You don't know the half of it, my friend."

The lights dimmed and the crowd returned to chattering and petting. Twenty minutes later, the sea of bodies parted slowly as the star sub made his way through the crowd. He smiled and nodded as many clapped him on his now-leather-covered shoulders. Despite the thin cane in his right hand, Kale carried himself well for someone who'd been whipped.

Ian made no move to join the throng around the sub. Instead, he relaxed in his chair, occasionally glancing around the room at the others. When one of the waiters approached him with a tray of drinks, Ian waved him away. David motioned to him and he stood slowly, saying nothing as David moved towards Kale.