Topic/Genre: Novel

Title: The Dark Garden

Author: Eden Bradley

Setting: BDSM Club Privé West Coast

Characters:

Protagonist: Mistress Rowan and Christian Thorne

Antagonist:

Background character: Master Hawke, April, Decker, Eric,

Climax:
”I have a proposition for you.”

“Of course you do.”

“Give me thirty days to show you that I’m right about you.”

“You must be joking. Why should I?”

“Because you have nothing to lose and everything to gain.”

“That’s ridiculous cliché!”

“Maybe not. Everyone knows the best tops are those who have bottomed, who have
experienced the other side. If I’m wrong about you, you’ll have that experience and will
be a better top for it. And if I’m right, you will have discovered your true self. A gift either
way.”

He was looking down at her; his strong, beautiful face was perfectly serious. He wasn’t
playing games. But how could she? There were reasons why she was a dominant.
Reasons she didn’t want to discuss with him.

But he was right. It would make her better at what she did. And she would love to feel
the smug satisfaction of proving him wrong. Needed to, maybe.

“Come on,” he whispered right next to her ear. “What have you got to be afraid of?”

Topic/Genre: Novel
Title: The Dark Garden

Author: Eden Bradley

Setting: BDSM Club Privé West Coast

Characters:

Protagonist: Mistress Rowan and Christian Thorne

Antagonist:

Background character: Master Hawke, April, Decker, Eric,

Climax:
”I have a proposition for you.”

“Of course you do.”

“Give me thirty days to show you that I’m right about you.”

“You must be joking. Why should I?”

“Because you have nothing to lose and everything to gain.”

“That’s ridiculous cliché!”

“Maybe not. Everyone knows the best tops are those who have bottomed, who have
experienced the other side. If I’m wrong about you, you’ll have that experience and will
be a better top for it. And if I’m right, you will have discovered your true self. A gift either
way.”

He was looking down at her; his strong, beautiful face was perfectly serious. He wasn’t
playing games. But how could she? There were reasons why she was a dominant.
Reasons she didn’t want to discuss with him.

But he was right. It would make her better at what she did. And she would love to feel
the smug satisfaction of proving him wrong. Needed to, maybe.

“Come on,” he whispered right next to her ear. “What have you got to be afraid of?”

That warm, whispering breath sent a hot shiver through her. He was standing so close,
he was almost touching her. Every cell in her body cried out for him to move closer, as
though she wouldn’t be satisfied until her flesh met his.
God, she was a fool.

“I’m not afraid of anything.” She was trembling all over, and desperate that he not see it.

“Shall we find out together?” That soft breathy whisper again.

Why did she feel this intense need to prove him wrong? Perhaps it was more that she
had to prove it to herself, had to test her strength.

“Alright. Thirty days.”

He pulled away and looked into her eyes. “Thirty days,” he repeated.

Theme: Romance

Point of view: Third-person omniscient

Summary:
Rowan Cassidy likes to be in charge especially in her personal life. She breathed
in the familiar, earthy scent of leather of Club Privé. As a mistress at Club Privé, the
most exclusive bondage/S & M club on the West Coast, Rowan can live out her
dominant fantasies safely, and with complete control. The most exclusive BDSM club on
the West Coast and that is Rowan’s second home.

She surveyed the space where her friends and acquaintances were preparing for
the play party tonight. The room was, as always, womblike, with its dean red walls and
dim purple and amber lights.

When had it all begun to mean so little, when at one time it had been everything
to her.

She watched as more people filtered into the room and willed herself not to
fidget. Why was she even here?

She was far too edgy, and dominating even the most beautiful boys at the club,
the most obedient, was no longer satisfying.
 There was beauty in the act of submission itself, something which never failed to
amaze her.

In the five years she herself had been involved, there was a part of her that never
quite felt whole.

Don't think about it now, don't think about why.

The club was crowded tonight. Almost every play station was in use.

Rowan was glad that as a dominant at the club, she'd never had to go through
those first excruciating experiences, that waiting to be chosen. She chose her partners.
It would never be any other way for her. Controlling her sensuality was key. She had
allowed herself to be controlled by another once and had paid far too high a price.

She glanced up and saw a familiar blond hair girl, which is her only friend April.
Meeting Decker the new master of April the playboy one who is an Irish and who just
had a vacation at the States.

A cool rush of night air caught her attention as the door opened for a late arrival.
An unfamiliar figure stood for a moment in the doorway, surveying the room. There was
something elegant in his stance.

A small shiver went through her

He is not for you.

Not one of her pretty boys to play, was she?

 Still, she couldn't take her eyes from him, this stranger dressed all in black. And
then he looked at her, locking gazes from across the room. Her stomach tightened
beneath the dark blue leather corset she wore.

Rowan smiled, she had played that game before.

When Master Hawke stood over her with the new Dom at his side. God, he was
even more gorgeous up close. His face was a symphony of fine planes and angles, hid
mouth even darker and more sensual. But it was his eyes that started a warm knot that
began in her stomach and spread outward until her limbs went weak. Eyes that were a
startling shade of turquoise and jade that shifted like the ocean at twilight.

Control, Rowan.

Master Hawke leaned over her. "I'd like you to meet Master Christian Thorne, just
back from Berlin. He's an old member at Privé. Thorne, this is Mistress Rowan"

Rowan reminded herself that he was just a man, like any other.

Get a hold of yourself, Rowan.

Christian Thorne walks in. He is self-confident and sophisticated. Yet she can’t
stop thinking about him and imagining his touch.

“I need to find a playmate for the evening.”

She patted April’s hand and rose from her couch. She still wasn’t very much in
the mood, but she obviously needed some distraction from her wandering mind, from
the lust still singing in her veins from that momentary contact of his lips on the back of
her hand.
 Ridiculous. Ironic. But there it was.

Christian Thorne was the first man who had excited her.

The first wave of her orgasm rolled over her, a stinging wave of pure pleasure.
And as her climax gathered intensity, turned into a sharp, stabbing pulse beat that
reverberated through her entire body, the image of Christian in her mind changed, and
he was pulling her naked body over his lap, his hand coming down in a stinging slap on
her ass. She came harder, moaned aloud. Her legs tensed against the onslaught of
sensation, the vibe held firmly as she shook and shuddered. And in her mind's eye,
Christian Thorne gave her the spanking of her life.

It was after four A.M. when she finally slept that night. Her dreams were dark,
veiled in a chiaroscuro cloud, as though she could never quite see what is going on. But
she could feel his presence. Christian. He was strong, dynamic. She could feel him,
even though she couldn't quite see his face. It was frustrating. Tantalizing.

She woke in the lonely predawn light in a sweat of need and reached into her
nightstand drawer, pulling out a small hand-held bullet

Sunday stretched interminably before her, with little to keep her occupied. A good
day to write, perhaps.

She typed furiously for the next hour and purge some of the confusion and lust
from her body. She let her character experience these things, so she wouldn't have to.

Despite her inner struggle to accept this side of herself she has half in love with
him already.

Christian was restless couldn't seem to settle anywhere. There has plenty to do,
but he couldn't focus on any one task.
 Thinking about the he had feeling about the glorious Mistress Rowan.

He had been wound up tight ever since meeting Rowan at club.

Despite her claim to dominance, he was convince there was more beneath the
surface. But how to convince her? There had to be a way.

He had to see her again. Had to find out if his instincts were right.

So Christian suggests that Rowan and he enter to a 30 days contract.

”I have a proposition for you.”

“Of course you do.”

“Give me thirty days to show you that I’m right about you.”

“You must be joking. Why should I?”

“Because you have nothing to lose and everything to gain.”

“That’s ridiculous cliché!”

“Maybe not. Everyone knows the best tops are those who have bottomed, who
have experienced the other side. If I’m wrong about you, you’ll have that experience and
will be a better top for it. And if I’m right, you will have discovered your true self. A gift
either way.”

He was looking down at her; his strong, beautiful face was perfectly serious. He
wasn’t playing games. But how could she? There were reasons why she was a
dominant. Reasons she didn’t want to discuss with him.

But he was right. It would make her better at what she did. And she would love to
feel the smug satisfaction of proving him wrong. Needed to, maybe.

“Come on,” he whispered right next to her ear. “What have you got to be afraid
of?”
 That warm, whispering breath sent a hot shiver through her. He was standing so
close, he was almost touching her. Every cell in her body cried out for him to move
closer, as though she wouldn’t be satisfied until her flesh met his.

God, she was a fool.

“I’m not afraid of anything.” She was trembling all over, and desperate that he not
see it.

“Shall we find out together?” That soft breathy whisper again.

Why did she feel this intense need to prove him wrong? Perhaps it was more that
she had to prove it to herself, had to test her strength.

“Alright. Thirty days.”

He pulled away and looked into her eyes. “Thirty days,” he repeated.

During these 30 days contract, he will take the dominant role and prove to
Rowan that he is correct about her. If he’s wrong, he says, Rowan will gain insight into
what it’s like to submit and that will make her a better dom. If he’s right, she’ll discover
more pleasure than she’s experienced before.

Of course, Rowan feels that she has a lot to lose, but she also can’t resist the
combination of Christian’s allure and the challenge of proving him wrong. So she agrees
to be his lover for thirty days, with the provision that there be no intercourse. The first
time Christian binds Rowan, she feels so afraid that she bursts into tears and runs
away, but Christian, who is worried by her strong reaction and curious about it,
convinces her to return. Rowan begins to feel safe with Christian, but then she becomes
afraid that she might be falling in love with him.

Rowan’s friend April, and Decker, who is something of a playboy in the BDSM
world. April and Decker begin to sleep together and discover they have the chemistry of
propane and lit matches. But April is also losing her heart to her lover, even though
Rowan and others warn her that Decker isn’t a man to commit to any one woman, no
matter how good the sex is. April knows it’s just a matter of time before her heart is
broken, but she plans to enjoy every minute with Decker while she can.

Tuesday night, the monthly meeting at the club. Rowan watched as everyone
settled into their chairs. April, sitting across from her, was leaning over, speaking quietly
with a young woman Rowan had never seen before. Nice that April was talking with the
new ones. That first transition into the lifestyle was always so hard.

“I’ve discovered that I need to be what I am, finally. And what it wasn't healthy to
deny myself the way I did for so long. But I've gotten to the core of whom and what I am
now. I'm not saying it was easy. But anything worth having is worth fighting for." She
paused, shifted in her chair. "I'm done fighting."

She felt the truth of that, all the way down to the depths of her soul. She knew
exactly who she was, what she wanted, and with Christian she had everything she'd
ever wanted, and more.

Love had shown her the way. But it was her own strength that had taken her
there.

~THE END~