Ye Olde Kinke Faire Read online

  Kendrick smiled. “We’re all kinky. And the thought of being involved with a seasonal Kinke Faire, where we could live it twenty-four seven had great appeal.” She nodded as she completely understood. That had been her draw as well. “And I hoped to buy the whole island and turn the township into a co-op for kinky individuals.” He shrugged. “Isn’t the first time we’ve been disappointed.”

  She blinked slowly, the shot slowly moving its way through her bloodstream. “A kinky co-op?”

  “Yep. Imagine. All two hundred and fifty cabins with kink-minded individuals. No need to hide who we are from our neighbors. Nine months out of the year just being us in the town and then for three months enacting a wonderful kinky playground with like-minded people.” He lifted his cup again and then put it down. “Obviously the dream is just that.”

  Chapter Three

  Seated on the sofa in his cabin three hours later, Kendrick wasn’t sure why he’d spilled all to Becca Hesse. There was something about her that pulled at him. He wanted to stand between her and any guy who would try to harm her again and spank her ass for walking onto that stage without asking more questions.

  “If I was in charge of this thing, that wouldn’t have happened.”

  He took a long sip of the coffee he made. And he’d make sure to have a better coffee shop as well. Whatever the swill those people made, it was not fit for human consumption. Not to mention their pitiful attempt at shops. Both places sold substandard BDSM gear no self-respecting Dom or sub would pay for.

  Kendrick had enough contacts to bring in the kind of people to run top-notch places. He knew men and women who would make fantastic dungeon monitors and actors who were in the scene and would know what the fuck they were doing. And he hated that in no time at all, Ye Olde Kinke Faire would be on every list online as the place not to go if you were into kink. It would die before the season was out.

  And all because the man running it either knew nothing about BDSM or didn’t care.

  Buying into such a venture would be stupid. It would be nigh impossible to convince people to give it a try after they heard how horribly it was run. Even if it was under new ownership.

  “There’s so much potential here,” he muttered before taking another sip. And Becca was proof of it. She was sweet, had a good sense of humor, and was submissive. And she had come for much the same reason he had. To be able to be kinky—and to be her submissive self—all the time. The thought of her staying on through the summer when the only person to watch out for her would be the doctor rubbed him the wrong way. Not to mention any other subs who were lurking in amongst the actors.

  A sharp rap on the door drew his attention. “Enter,” he barked and Neil walked inside. He’d changed from jeans to flannel pants and he collapsed into the chair opposite Kendrick.

  “This place is a fucking mess,” Neil said.

  “You don’t say,” Kendrick said dryly.

  “Craig and I saw five instances of unsafe play. Joseph said Alice reamed one guy a new one for something he did.” He shook his head. “I’m pissed. The cabins were not what I expected. They’re more luxurious than I ever would have imagined. But the Faire? It’s the exact opposite.”

  He was right there. The cabins were more like homes with hardwood floors, rugs, a fireplace, and in the one-bedrooms, a loft. The two bedrooms had a full second floor. And they were utterly sound proofed. “So they put all their money into the homes and almost nothing into the Faire.”

  “Probably thought it would be easy to run a kinky faire,” Neil said dryly. “After all, those kinky people are just after the fantasy, right?”

  Kendrick grinned. A lot of non-kink people thought the whole thing wasn’t real and that nobody actually did it. “I wanted this to work,” he said with a growl.

  “Me too. I’m fucking tired of getting my brains shook around on a bronc, Kendrick. But I’m beginning to wonder if our dream is even possible.”

  Neil stood up and went into Kendrick’s kitchen. He came back with a mug of coffee and collapsed back into the chair.

  “The only way this would work,” Kendrick said, ruminating, “is if we bought them out now, got the place completely shut down, and either rebuilt with the idea of not opening until next year or called around and got enough people to make it a worthwhile endeavor.” He winced. “That would cost us because we’d have to put major money out to make sure the stages and the shops were bigger. And we’d probably have to house all our shop owners for free for the time they were here just to get them to come this season.”

  “Not to mention the dungeon,” Neil said with distaste. “Did you get a chance to look at theirs?”

  “No. Do I want to?”

  “Nope. The whole place says ‘danger zone’. They had one pulley and if that thing could hold a hundred pounds? I’m Colin Farrell.”

  Kendrick groaned and leaned his head back. “I don’t get how anyone could create such a travesty.”

  The door opened and Craig walked in, letting it slam behind him. “What a piece of shit,” he said succinctly as he dropped down next to Kendrick. “How the fuck did any of it even pass inspection?”

  “Who says it did?” Neil said. “For all we know, maybe nobody has inspected the place.”

  “It’s got good bones,” Craig said grudgingly. “The permanent buildings are set on firm foundations and they all have flood basements. I checked out several of the cabins and they seem to be in good nick. So whoever planned it had a good eye. It’s the execution that sucks.” As he spoke the last sentence, Alice and Joseph walked inside.

  “And even the execution isn’t all bad,” Alice said as Joseph took a seat on the last chair and she sat on his lap. “I talked with several of the actresses and they’re frustrated. The kinky ones feel they were lured here with promises that have not been fulfilled. They thought that all the actors would be versed in the lifestyle so they could count on SSC. Unfortunately, the actors seem to know nothing. It feels more like a person with vision started the whole thing and then either quit or was pushed out and whoever finished it didn’t care.”

  Craig grunted. “So the question is, is it too late to swoop in and take over?”

  “On June first, they open,” Kendrick reminded him. “That evening, the blogs will be filled with disappointed posts on what a rip-off Ye Olde Kinke Faire was. It won’t last the month.”

  “Which only gives us two weeks,” Alice agreed with a frown. “We’d need more time.”

  “But is it worth it?” Kendrick asked. “I agree that this place has much of what we want and I want to live here and make it our dream. But they soft opened a week ago and in that week, anyone who has come has seen what a waste it is.”

  “Maybe not,” Neil disagreed. “When Phantom of the Opera was first shown to a group of friends, they laughed at it and basically booed the entire idea. It had to be completely reworked to make it the masterpiece it became. People know a soft opening means there will be problems and mistakes. If we bought in and took over, we could put posts out letting people know we were now in charge and that we changed the dates to bring out the best possible product.”

  Nobody spoke for several minutes. Craig went in and brought coffees back for him, Joseph, and Alice. Kendrick continued to sip his coffee as he pitted the two truths against one another. He wanted to take this challenge on. But the place was horrible.

  “Let’s put it all out there,” Kendrick said after he drank the last of his coffee. “The town has the vast majority of what we need to create the co-op. It will need a few more buildings for shops and stores, but basically, it’s built and built well. The biggest problem is the Faire. As it currently is, it sucks. So what do we need to make it a viable vacation destination for the kink community?”

  “More shops,” Alice said instantly, “with well-made gear.”

  “Actors and dungeon monitors who know what they’re doing,” Neil added.

  “More medical help,” Joseph said. “Poor Dr. Myles is the only medical p
rofessional on staff. There is no way he can handle all the problems that are likely to come up, even if everyone was at the top of their game.”

  “Better food,” Craig said with a chuckle. “And a coffee shop that sells something besides a mystery drink that is the worst thing I’ve ever tasted.”

  “Stage work to show off the beauty and fun of play, especially the more dangerous parts, to its best,” Alice mused. “That whipping post could be fantastic if it had players who knew what they were doing and it was built better.”

  Kendrick smiled. The energy in the room changed as they spoke. It went up and the excitement sizzled around him. “So how long will it take for us to make this place into what we want it to be?”

  Alice pulled out her cell phone. “Let’s text some major players. We’ll give them the basics, but not where we’re at, and ask if they had the chance to run a shop of their own for the rest of the summer—and live on a beautiful island while at it—how soon could they be here.”

  Craig and Neil pulled their phones out and Kendrick nodded. “I’ll take Alec and David. Between those two, we should be able to get a wide cross-section of the community to respond.”

  Even though it was six o’clock and none of them had eaten dinner yet, they couldn’t wait. For almost two hours they made call after call after call. By eight, they had run through the list of people they trusted implicitly.

  “Okay, who and what have we got?” Neil asked as he made one last note on a piece of paper.

  “For shops,” Alice said, “I’ve got Sandra Luther and Jake Lawrence. Sandra’s got well-made toys and Jake makes the most amazing chainmail clothing. Both of them are booked until mid-June but say they have a ton of items they can sell and could be here by June twenty-ninth for the rest of the summer. They do need to know for sure within three days, though. For food, John voiced interest in running a restaurant here but not until we’ve proved the Faire.”

  “Peta said she couldn’t come this year,” Craig said, “but she’d love to set up a piercing and tattoo parlor for subsequent summers and if we get the co-op going, she wants in. I’ve got seven men who are consummate actors who are willing to come work the whole summer here.” He paused and scratched his chin. “I don’t know about subsequent years, but after Jilly’s miscarriage last year, she spent about six months working her fingers off making leather goods. The designs and quality are fantastic. Her collars are a piece of art. We have over five thousand pieces. I’d have to get them shipped from our storage, but they’re the quality we want. Oh, and Jilly’s cousin Slate loves the idea and said if we could guarantee a decent kitchen, he’d run our bakery. He said that in the summer it would be mostly for pastries, but in the winter he could run it for basics like bread.”

  “Oh, that’s a plus,” Neil said. “A major boon to the township as well.”

  Kendrick looked at Craig. “Any buildings that have the facilities for a baker here in Elan Township?”

  “One. A professional kitchen. Isn’t in use, but I can do an inspection on it.”

  A slow smile crossed his face as he picked up his notes. “It’s going to take a year to get the Faire we want to run, but if we can get the owner to sell to us, we could still have a well-run Faire this season. We can call it the preseason. Even invite the community at a much lower price to give us feedback and help us fine tune. Both Alec and David are in. Alec makes incredibly sturdy toys and would be good to tap for demonstrations on CBT. David’s known for his paddles and says he has more than enough stock to be able to make any design on a paddle someone might want. David’s son Ryan is young—only nineteen—but he’s a Dom and would love to volunteer this summer to hopefully secure a job for next summer.”

  Joseph started to chuckle. “Do we even need to vote on it?” Alice laughed as well.

  “No,” Craig said in amusement, “but let’s do it to be official. If we can wrestle this from the owners tonight and can shut this place down by tomorrow, I’m in.”

  “Me too,” Neil said with satisfaction. “That means we can seriously start tearing this place apart on Friday.”

  “Rhys will be thrilled,” Kendrick said dryly, thinking of his brother. “He’s coming for a vacation and instead is going to be working with us in finalizing the co-op paperwork. And I’m most definitely in,” he added.

  “Us too,” Alice said with a happy sigh. “As much as the Faire was a big disappointment, I really like it here. Just don’t remind me of that in January when I’m complaining of the cold,” she told Joseph who grinned but didn’t say anything.

  “Joseph?” Craig said laconically. Joseph gave him a thumbs up. “All right. We’re a go. It’s your job now,” he said with a wicked grin as he turned toward Kendrick. “Work your magic, wise one. Jilly will be happy to hear that she doesn’t have to go back on the water. She’s not looking forward to the trip back.”

  After a sharp kick to Craig’s shin which made him laugh, Kendrick looked up the number for R. C. Cowen.

  Chapter Four

  Becca had a hard time keeping her eyes open as she puttered around the kitchen in the cabin she shared with Cassidy and two other girls. Her body ached and the welts stung. If it had been a real scene and a good one, those would be the kind of discomforts that would make her smile. As it was, she just felt like crap. Sleeping had been almost impossible the night before. She hadn’t been able to toss and turn due to her back so she finally poured herself out of bed just after four. It was five o’clock now and she was on her fourth cup of coffee.

  She needed to go into the shower and get the bandages off, wash off the areas, get antibacterial cream on them, and get them rebandaged. But she wasn’t that limber. My arms don’t bend that way. There was no way to be able to reach it all. Especially if she didn’t want to rip open the welts. So she was waiting until Cassidy got up. Her friend would help her. In the meantime, she popped several Ibuprofen and gulped coffee.

  Needing to get her mind off her aches and pains, she thought of Kendrick Finleigh. Not only was he a delicious piece of eye candy, but dominant as well. He radiated it. Whether he was a good or bad Dom was yet to be seen, but his actions so far fit him. Heroic, hot, dominant. Yum.

  And of course, he had to see her at her worst. He’s gay, idiot. She grimaced. Why were all the good ones gay? Then again, there was the doctor. He was attractive and in control and she could imagine that if she saw him when she wasn’t humiliated and in pain that he was probably exceptionally good looking.

  So why was her mind stuck on Kendrick?

  “Morning,” Cassidy said with a yawn. “You went to sleep earl—” Her word cut off and Becca turned to see her staring with wide eyes and a slack mouth. “What the hell happened to you?”

  With a wince, Becca explained about the whipping post.

  “Holy shit, Becca. This place is a disaster. I heard there was a problem, but not what it was.” Cassidy grimaced. “This totally sucks.”

  “It does,” Becca agreed. “And while it sinks in, can you help? I need to get the bandages off and cleaned.”

  The gauze was caked on and they had to wet it down to get it off, which reopened the welts. “Well,” Cassidy said as she used a soft washcloth to dab at them, “the good news is they aren’t infected. The doc did a good job. The bad news is they look like hell, Becca. A couple of them look like they might leave scars.”

  It took a good half hour to get her back cleaned and rebandaged. Cassidy helped her get dressed in a loose pair of sweats and a baggy t-shirt and after Cassidy took a shower and got dressed, they sat in the kitchen and sipped coffee.

  “I’m wondering if we should just go back to Seattle,” Cassidy mused. “I mean what happened to you would have made Master Rob go ballistic.” Reminded of the kind sadistic Dom who had been her second master, Becca nodded. “And if that’s how they’re going to treat us, it will just get worse once the Faire officially opens.”

  A knock on the front door made them both look that way. Cassidy hopped off a stool and
walked over to it. The voices were so low that Becca couldn’t hear what they said, so she was surprised by the intrigued look on her friend’s face as she walked toward her. “There’s an emergency meeting at eight,” she said. “Down in the Faire. Cavent said the Faire is closed for the day. Think the accident made them realize how dangerous things were?”

  Well, that was one possibility. But Becca wondered if Kendrick had done something. He didn’t seem the type to stand around when danger was apparent. “Maybe,” she murmured and took another sip of coffee. “And I should start out. It’s seven now and I won’t be able to walk as fast as I normally do.”

  “Let’s go. If they’ve shut down, we can get packed, on the ferry, and back to Seattle by nightfall.” Cassidy smirked. “And I think I might drop a word in Master Rob’s ear.”

  “If they aren’t already shut down, that’ll do it,” Becca said wryly. The owners of the Faire would be lucky if they didn’t pay through the nose once he got through with them.

  The air was crisp and cool and she inhaled the pine scent as they walked through the trees. She’d miss it. Seattle had trees surrounding it, but it was a big city with buildings, sidewalks, and steel. One of her favorite things about Elan Isle was the peace. If the kink had been real, it would have been her version of heaven.

  They reached the Faire just before eight and spotted the gaggle of other actors they’d worked with. Cavent and a few other people were around as well.

  “It’s going to be that they’ve shut down,” Cassidy said with a sure nod. “Serves them right.”

  As Becca couldn’t spot Kendrick or any of his friends, she had the feeling Cassidy might be right. Which meant she would have to find a silly job to take her through July. As of August first, she would be preparing her room for the new school year. As much as she enjoyed teaching, the amount of hours involved wore her down.

  Cassidy took a seat in the outside benches next to the Java Pike and Becca stood next to her. She couldn’t get comfortable. It hurt when she stood or when she sat so she tried to not move at all. At eight on the dot, a man she hadn’t seen before walked past them. He wore an ill-fitting suit and had an almost completely bald head. He reminded her of a used-car salesman.