Ben sighed and continued on. He felt eyes on him and did his best to ignore the sensation as he moved through the throng. A woman to his left took a step forward as he approached, drawing his eye. Dressed in a simple white silk top above a tight black leather skirt and a short leather jacket. No spikes, buckles, clamps or other bondage paraphernalia. Ben was relieved to see that. She was wearing a slim silver chain around her neck from which a blue and green loop hung.

"Good evening Mr. Shepherd. My name is Pepin Stiegerwald. I'm the President of our little social club," she said with a...