A Club Whisper Novel
by
Silver fox Curtis is everything baker Andrew could want in a sub, and their chemistry is off the charts. But as a wealthy and successful gallery owner, Curtis intimidates Andrew and challenges his dominant nature. Can Andrew get used to a sub with a much higher social status?
British noble Curtis Morris has all but given up on finding his perfect Dom when he walks into a bakery and meets Andrew Granger—smoldering hot, new to Miami, into the lifestyle, and with kinks that align perfectly with Curtis’s own.
Andrew grew up poor and doesn’t know if he can handle a sub with so much more money, even if he’s insanely attracted to Curtis. To make matters worse, Curtis’s preferred club, Whisper, is far beyond Andrew’s financial means. Still, Andrew doesn’t want to lose Curtis to his own hang-ups, not when Curtis is far from the elitist snob Andrew expected. But Andrew keeps messing up, and with Curtis’s rich ex visiting with the hopes of winning him back, he and Curtis will need all the help they can get to make their romance of opposites work out.
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Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Editors:
Cover Artists:
Genres:
Pairings: M-M
Heat Level: 4
Romantic Content: 5
Ending: Click here to reveal
Character Identities: Gay
Protagonist 1 Age: 36-45
Protagonist 2 Age: 36-45
Tropes: Class Differences
Word Count: 67500
Setting: USA
Languages Available: English
Series Type: Same Universe / Various Characters
Chapter 1
Curtis Morris, renowned art dealer and agent for the famous and internationally sought-after artist and painter, Rainbow Snake, didn’t know whether he should laugh or tear his hair out about his charge’s latest idea. Collin, aka Rainbow Snake, would have his second BDSM exhibition at Club Whisper soon and had had some kind of artistic epiphany, something that happened quite regularly with him. It usually fell either to Curtis or Martin, Collin’s fiancé and Dom, to guide the armada of Collin’s wild ideas into calm waters.
“Collin, I like your idea, I really do. But don’t forget, Doms are delicate people. Most of them wouldn’t deal well with a sub wielding a chainsaw in front of them in an environment that—at least in theory—is designed solely to enhance their dominance.”
There was silence at the other end of the line, and Curtis could practically see the gears shifting in Collin’s head.
READ MORE“Martin doesn’t mind.” Collin sounded a bit petulant. He was very proud of his skills with the chainsaw and rightfully so. Not everybody could turn a block of wood into a dragon so lifelike it seemed as if it would spread its wings at any moment. Curtis sighed. He hated making Collin sad. It always felt like kicking a puppy.
“That is because Martin is very secure in his masculinity and not easily threatened by anything.”
“I know. He’s so great, isn’t he?”
Curtis closed his eyes for a moment to fight down the wave of sadness surging in his heart. Talking about Martin never failed to make Collin happy. It also reminded Curtis of everything he had lost—or had never had, considering what an asshole his ex had proven to be. Curtis steeled himself against those negative thoughts and focused on Collin again. Opening night for the exhibition would be in three days, and after talking Collin out of the chainsaw demonstration, he went over the timetable with him, which was kind of useless, since he would forget anyway, but Curtis always made a point of including Collin in everything regarding his art. It made Collin happy, and now and then he would surprise Curtis with a sudden burst of insight.
After telling Collin to have a wonderful day and hanging up, Curtis stared for some time at his favorite Rainbow Snake print. A beautifully drawn raven, shown from the back, with its wings spread from one side of the picture to the other, emerging from a field of brightly colored flowers and flying into an equally bright sun. The contrast between the raven’s dark feathers and the vibrant hues was stunning enough, but when the onlooker took a closer look at the picture—which was always a good idea with Rainbow Snake’s work—it revealed small details in the field of flowers. Like the green spider sucking out a fly in the blossom of a red poppy, or the hornet catching a butterfly in flight, or the small army of ant princesses getting ready for their maiden flight, or the bumblebees emerging from their nest in the ground. To Collin, all of it held beauty, and he made the spectator see it as well. The original, a personal gift from Collin to Curtis—“Because you’re always there for me, and you understand me even if I don’t make sense, and mess things up, and change the subject too often, and never know the right things to say, even though the words always make sense in my head, which is kind of scary, come to think of it, the discrepancy between in and out, and me and the world, you know, and I guess I just want to say thank you for being my anchor, my connection.”—had a place of honor in Curtis’s bedroom and was protected by a whole battery of motion sensors and alarms.
Looking at that picture always had a calming effect on Curtis, and contemplating the deeper meaning behind it helped him not to think about the desert his love life had been for the past three years. After Jasper had traded him in for a newer, younger model, Curtis had been too devastated to start dating right away. It had taken him more than eight months to return to Whisper, and since then, he’d only played a few times and never twice with the same partner. He was an experienced sub, and even though his once-flat abs now sported a slight paunch, he knew he was still attractive at forty-five. The problem was Curtis wasn’t used to submitting without a personal attachment. When he did a scene just for the sake of the scene and to get rid of some of his sexual frustration, he could never completely let go. It wasn’t fair to him or the Dom he was playing with. In addition, many of the Doms were intimidated by his wealth and academic and family background. Those were three things Curtis couldn’t—and wouldn’t—change. Sometimes he contemplated looking for a partner and Dom outside of Whisper, maybe on one of those dating sites, but if the Doms at Whisper, who were all on the upper end of the food chain moneywise, had problems with his social standing, how would somebody “normal” react? Somebody whose monthly income didn’t have five figures or more? Curtis tried very hard not to become an arrogant, stuck-up snob who thought about people in terms of social classes, but it was hard when he himself got categorized and judged based on the way he dressed and talked every day. If he was honest, it was a good thing most of the time, because it got him special treatment, and he would be a liar if he said that wasn’t nice, but when it came to finding a new partner, it sucked.
He sighed again. Sitting in his office and feeling sorry for himself wouldn’t get any of his work done, and there was plenty before the exhibition started. At least being busy would keep him from moping, which wasn’t that much fun to begin with.
COLLAPSE
