Chapter Four - Munch, Munch, Munch

Munch, Munch, Munch



I pulled out the card again just to look at it, as I’d done so many times since I’d received it. It was nearly weightless, but at the same time it wasn’t. This small piece of paper had the ability to literally change my life. It was so profound that I nearly laughed aloud. Something so small and harmless was weighing down on me more heavily than anything else in my life ever had.

I couldn’t help but question myself. Was I cut out for this lifestyle? Would I make a good submissive? Would I have what it took to please a Master? What would I do if I failed? Surely, I couldn’t give up my newfound sexuality. That simply wasn’t an option, but would I be able to go back to living in the background and watching from the sidelines? No! I mentally snapped my knees straight and berated myself for all of the self doubt. Not only could I do this, but I would.

I continued my online research, read as many books as I could get my hands on, and continued my visits to The Forbidden Room. Leah was much friendlier with us now than she had been in the past. We’d gotten into quite a few discussions since the day she gave me the invite. She had learned more about my not so sordid past and I had learned that she was friends with many different people in the BDSM community. She said that at one point she had entertained becoming a submissive herself, but in the end she decided that she loved having as many partners as she wanted, when she wanted. Instead, she chose partners who were kinky enough to enjoy tying her up, or allowing themselves to be tied up when the mood struck.




It had also been cleared up that while Rose, Alice, and I were very close, I would be the only one joining the community. They were both in very loving relationships with men that seemed to suit them right down to the ground. The boys had even made a trip with us and had met Leah, who had given her seal of approval for both of them. She said that any guy that was willing to have such an open sexual relationship with their partner was okay in her book. We all had a good laugh about that.

As it turned out, Leah wasn’t just the clerk at The Forbidden Room. She was owned the place, which was how she initially came to know so many people in the community. A lot of them now frequented her store and she was invited to all of their parties. Being in the profession that she was, she was able to give me so much more in depth information than I ever could have found in books or on the web. She had told us more of what to expect at the munch, and had even told us a little about the hosts.

It was hosted by a group of women that formed the Chicago Femme Domme League. The group consisted of three women named Tanya, Irina, and Kate and each of them were very skilled and sought after Mistresses. If I was to choose to pick a Mistress, she said I couldn’t go wrong with any of the three of them, but that it was hard to get a spot with them. I had assured her that I would prefer a male and she had provided me with a few names.

I decided against Googling any of the names she had provided in favor of getting a first hand look at them instead. My gut told me I would know my Master when I saw him. Of course, I was instructed by Leah that proper etiquette would disallow me to address them as Master until I was given their permission. The chosen Sir would suffice in the meantime. As the event drew nearer, my anxiety levels began to skyrocket.

Rose and Alice had insisted they would be joining me. Even Emmett and Jasper seemed to be getting into the spirit and wanted to tag along. The fact both horrified and comforted me. Other than those four, I would only know Leah, so having as many people close to me as possible made me feel slightly better. At the same time, I didn’t know how the guys would react to being at such an event. They had assured me they would be on their best behavior, but I had come to learn that Emmett’s idea of good behavior and mine were completely different. I just hoped that he would follow my example instead of his own.

When the day finally arrived, I was a mess of nerves. I sat in my room, staring at my closet for an hour before the knock at my door broke me out of my trance. Alice and Rose both stood there with grins on their faces. My nervousness must have been clearer than I had thought, because they both came to sit with me on the bed and rubbed my back soothingly.

“I don’t know what to wear.” Even as I said it, it sounded silly, but I couldn’t help myself. There were much bigger things for me to worry about than my choice of clothing.

“Don’t fret so much, Bella, that’s why we’re here for you.” Of course, Alice, the Queen of Fashion, would be here to help me with clothes. I wanted to kick myself for my stupidity, but refrained.

“Honey, everything will be okay. We’re all going to be there for you. The guys are out in the living room playing video games and we’re here to help you get ready.” I looked up at Rose in shock. The guys? They were here?

“You mean Emmett and Jasper are here with you?” I must have been more zoned out than I thought if I had missed the sounds of the boys playing video games in the next room. Sure enough, I heard the sounds of hooting and hollering at that point.

“Well of course they are silly. We all told you we’d be going with you tonight, and they decided to tag along early. I hope you don’t mind that they brought their 360 with them.”

I had learned that Emmett and Jasper were roommates, which was how Rosalie had met Emmett. The memory of the week without my friends made my heart clutch, but I pushed that aside. They were here with me now and that’s all that mattered. “No Rose, of course I don’t mind.”

“Good, because it will keep Emmett entertained for awhile and we can get some serious work done in here.”

“Now, to pick out your clothes!” Alice squealed. You’d think this was some huge fashion event, but then again everything was when it came to Alice.

“Alice, please don’t go over the top. I want to be me, which means I don’t want to be overdone. I want them to see what they’re going to get if they decide to take me on.”

“Pfft. I already knew that. But that doesn’t mean you can’t look sexy too. In fact, Rosalie and I already have your outfit here.” She was bouncing on the bed. It was hard not to share in her excitement, but I felt a little nauseous.

Rose pulled a bag out from behind her and held it out to me. “A gift to celebrate the first day of your new life.”

I felt the tears rush to my eyes and before I could blink them back, a few had spilled over. “I’m so ashamed of myself.”

They both started calming me again, shushing me and telling me I had nothing to be ashamed of. The fact that they were being so wonderful only intensified my guilt.

“Of course I do. For a minute, I thought about not telling you because I thought you’d look down on me.”

“Isabella Swan, you should be ashamed of yourself for having such thoughts,” Alice scolded. “We love you, and while we may not completely understand all of it, we’re here for you.”

“And we’re here to help you get through this, and to learn alongside you,” Rose added.

I wiped the tears away and looked inside the bag. The contents nearly made my heart stop. Inside was a black pair of cropped palazzo pants and a midnight blue tank with spaghetti straps. There was delicate embroidery along the plunging neckline that added the right amount of flair, but the outfit as a whole was comfortable enough to appease me.

“It’s perfect.” I smiled at both of them, completely baffled at how I had gotten such wonderful friends.

“Of course it’s perfect. We know fashion and we know you,” Alice scoffed at my compliment, knowing it wasn’t needed.

“And it will have everyone there eating out of the palm of your hand,” Rose said. “Men and women alike,” She added.

Laughter bubbled forth before I could stop it. “Yeah, yeah, yeah. Because you know I’m all about eating the pussy.”

“I didn’t know you were a muff-diver, Bella.” Emmett’s voice from the doorway startled us all and caused riotous laughter to fill my tiny apartment. Why, oh why, did Emmett choose that moment to walk into my room?


When we pulled up to the Ambrosia Café, I was still a little nervous. I didn’t really know what to expect once we walked through the doors, but I was too far in to pull out now. Everything I had come to desire was at the tip of my fingers. I could almost feel it, just outside my grasp. Tonight that would change. I would immerse myself tonight, and once I did, I would have everything I needed for sexual fulfillment.

When we got to the doors, I gave Emmett a stern look. “Behave,” was all I said. He looked like a choir boy with the innocent look he gave me. He even put his hands over his head to make a halo for himself. I knew better than to be fooled, nor was I particularly amused.

We walked in as a group and presented the card to the hostess. She looked surprised for a moment before she gestured to the private party room in the back. I didn’t know what to make of her look, but I decided to ignore it as we made our way to the back of the restaurant.

When we got to the private room I was stunned. I wasn’t quite sure what I had been expecting, but it certainly wasn’t this. There were all sorts of beautiful people eating canapés, drinking wine and other alcoholic beverages, and they were all socializing. It was more like a party than a BDSM meet and greet, but since I didn’t have any experience, I didn’t know how accurate that statement was. Emmett broke me out of my musing.

“Bella, I thought you said this thing was for BDSM.” I was suddenly nervous as to where this was going, but decided I’d give him the benefit of the doubt. I simply nodded in response. “Well, why isn’t anyone wearing leather or carrying around whips or cuffs?” I closed my eyes and breathed through my nose. It really was my fault for trusting him. I should have known better.

“Emmett.” I had to stop to calm myself. My nerves were wreaking havoc on my self control. “There are rules in the BDSM community. One of the rules is Safe, Sane, and Consensual.”

“Yeah, I get that part. You consent to be tied up and whipped, or whatever kinky shit rocks your boat, but none of these people look kinky.”

I glared at him and drew a circle in the air above my head. “What happened to your fucking halo?” He blushed and tried to look sheepish. If a man could accomplish that when he was a whopping 6’6, it would be Emmett. “Safe, Sane, and Consensual includes the general public. They didn’t give their consent to be exposed to this lifestyle, so these events are low-key.”

Alice and Rose both looked impressed. Alice giggled before saying, “For someone who didn’t know what a munch was not too long ago, you certainly seem to know now.”

“So I did my research. Big deal.” But it was a big deal. A huge deal in fact. The biggest deal I’d ever had happen to me in my life.

“So says the carpet-muncher,” Rose said with a wicked gleam in her eye. I elbowed her gently and laughed at the absurdity of it all. I was still embarrassed about that, and of course she would know that.

I scanned the room again, looking for anyone that I might recognize. Sadly, there was no one. Just a bunch of well dressed people laughing and talking. I sensed, more than heard, someone’s presence behind me. I spun around and came face to face with Leah. I had never been so happy to see her as I was at this moment.

“Leah!” I cried, throwing my arms around her. She stumbled back a few steps before regaining her balance and gripping me back in a fierce hug. “I didn’t think you were going to make it.”

“Of course I’m here, Bells! I love these things. While I may not be ready to turn myself over to them as a submissive, these are my people.”

“So how does something like this work? I’m not sure of proper protocol in a situation like this. Help!”

Her laugh was melodic and it immediately soothed my frayed nerves. “Relax, Bella, this is just like any other party you’ve been to. Well, other than the fact that you might choose or be chosen as a sex slave to one of them.” My thoughts went back to the last party I had been to, the one where I first saw Eric. I had essentially been chosen that night too.

By the time I came out of my memory, Leah was talking to the gang. Emmett was cracking off-color bondage jokes causing wild laughter to ring out amongst our group. It didn’t anger me anymore though, for some reason having Leah there with us made it all seem oddly okay. The guys made their way over to the bar to get drinks while Leah snatched a dark-haired man heading our way.

“Ladies, this is Embry. He’s my current beau, so he has the honors of tying me up and whipping me.” Embry smiled politely before taking Leah’s lips in a fiery kiss that scorched the air around them. We, as spectators, could feel the burn. When he released her, he looked at us once again and greeted us.

“It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance. And you are?” I was taken back by his sheer size. He was as big as Emmett and just as bulky. He was enormous.

Alice recovered first. “I’m Alice, that’s Rose, and this here is Bella. Nice to meet you.” He took each of our hands in turn, placing a small, but wet, kiss on the back of each of them.

Embry was a really laid back kind of guy. Much like Jasper, he was able to put the people around him at ease. I felt better being surrounded by this group. Leah was right; it was much like any other party I had been to. Except these people were all dressed a lot nicer than at a college kegger.

Talk flowed around us as we all got comfortable. I was still scanning the room, trying to find the one that would be my future Master. I wasn’t finding any likely candidates just yet. The girls were getting into the spirit too and were randomly pointing people out while Leah filled us in on their background.

“What about him, Bella?” Rose was pointing out a tall blonde man standing across the room, with a leggy redhead attached to his hip. He was looking at me too, and the glint in his eye made me uneasy.

“I don’t think so,” Leah cut in. “He’s into blood sport. Unless you want needles inserted into you, or want to be cut in various places for pleasure, I’d steer clear of him.”

“Who is he?” I couldn’t stop myself from asking. Of course, I wasn’t interested in that kind of thing, but curiosity drove me to ask his name.

“He’s James. The redhead is Victoria, and they’re both bad news. In fact, I’m surprised they were allowed back in here after his last sub.”

Now I was intrigued. What could have possibly caused him to fall into such bad graces? Before I could even ask, Leah went on.

“Now, technically Victoria is his sub, as well as his mate, for lack of a better word. Their last sub was a guy named Laurent. Poor sap didn’t really know what he was getting into.” She paused to take a drink, but she had all of our attention now. “Apparently, they, James and Victoria, got a little too enthusiastic while cutting him. They accidentally nicked his femoral artery and he nearly bled out. He was in the hospital for a very long time.”

I was suddenly very glad I had someone like Leah to tell me all about the people here. Even though James gave me a bad vibe, I could have fallen prey to anyone else without proper information. She was an invaluable asset to me.

We were still looking around when Emmett nudged my shoulder. “Heya, Bells. There’s a guy over there staring at you like he’s like to eat you up, or out, whatever choice he’s given.”

We all glanced over and saw him. My heart skipped a beat and then resumed at twice its normal pace. He was the most beautiful creature I’d ever laid eyes on.

He was tall, but not overly so, and you could tell through the expensive cut of his suit that he was well-built. He had a mess of riotous bronze hair on his head that made my hands itch to touch. But what drew me most were his eyes. Emerald pools stared right into mine and I was lost. His lips quirked up on one side, forming a dangerously sexy crooked grin. I knew in that moment I had found him. I would do anything in the world to belong to this man.

Leah whistled before she spoke. “That’s Edward Cullen. He’s one of the most sought after Doms in this community… even seasoned subs would love to serve him. But it’s just your luck that his specialty happens to be taking on fresh subs and ‘training’ them.”

Luck or fate? I didn’t care. All that mattered in that moment was that I was his. No questions asked. He pushed away from the wall and started in our direction and I felt my stomach flop. I didn’t know if I would be able to actually speak to him. What would I say?

Before I could wrap my mind around it, I lost him in the crowd. Leah was still talking about him, something about him and his most current submissive parting ways, but it all sounded like buzzing in my ears. I tried to shake it off, but I couldn’t. I was still lost in Edward.

I felt someone behind me again, but was afraid to turn around. Afraid it was him, afraid it wasn’t. I didn’t know. I was still reeling from the one glance I had from across the room. I took a sip of my wine, hoping it would calm me some. Then, I heard the voice. The voice alone was like liquid sex. My arousal was nearly unbearable. My eyes were wide and my knees were weak. I was a wreck.

“Why hello, Leah. Lovely to see you tonight. But it’s always such a pleasure to see you here.” Somehow I didn’t need to turn to know it was him. My body had already told me so, or its reaction had.

“Oh, hey Edward. Good to see you too.” How could she be so fucking calm? I could feel surges racing through my body, like an electrical storm in the air. I could even faintly smell the ozone after a bolt of lightning struck.

“Are you going to introduce me to your friends?” I could hear the smirk in his voice. It was as if my body was made for him. I was already so attuned to him. Only him.

“Sure. This is Embry, my current bad-boy. And these are Rosalie and Emmett, Alice and Jasper, and last but most certainly not least, this is Bella.”

“My pleasure. And where is Bella’s date?”

Why wasn’t anyone else talking? Had the world gone mad? I tried my best to glare at them, but unsurprisingly everyone was looking away. Assholes. I turned to face him and was once again lost in his piercing gaze. My voice was shaky when I finally found it.

“Bella doesn’t have a date.” Why the hell was I speaking about myself in the third person? I wanted to scream, or rip out my hair, but I was still frozen in place. His brow lifted and he smirked at me again.

“No? So what brings a beautiful girl such as you to an event such as this?” I glanced around, hoping one of my friends would help me, but they had disappeared, leaving me alone with this amazing man before me.

“Um, curiosity?” He threw back his head and laughed. I was mesmerized by the sound. Was it possible to have an orgasm from the sound of someone’s laughter? I was scared the answer was yes.

“You look frightened. You’re new to this aren’t you?” His eyes continued to bore into mine.

“Yes,” I whispered.

He leaned in so that his mouth was right next to my ear. “And what exactly are you looking to learn, little one?” A small moan escaped me before I could stop it. I heard his intake of breath and his lips grazed the outer shell of my ear.

Before I could answer, the sound of someone clearing their throat caused me to jump away from Edward like I had been burned. I glanced over and saw James and Victoria standing there with identical leers plastered on their faces.

“Edward.” James gave a curt nod in greeting. “Who is your toy? I’d love to get to know her.” I didn’t miss the innuendo and I shuddered at the thought of what he had in mind. Especially after the rundown I’d gotten from Leah.

“James, Victoria.” Edward was equally as curt, but there was a venomous tone to his seductive voice that surprised me. “I’m afraid that won’t be possible. We were just leaving.”

He took my elbow and I gasped at the shockwave that raced through me. I was tingling everywhere; all I could do was stare at him with wide eyes. He looked equally stunned before he regained his composure and guided me through the crowd.

He found Leah and the rest of the group with no problems and made his way over. They had all been watching the display and Leah came rushing over as soon as she saw us.

“What did that bastard say?” There was fire in her eyes and she looked on the verge of attacking someone.

“I have everything under control, Leah, but we should probably go before he starts asking too many questions.” His grip on my elbow was still firm and my skin was still humming.

“What in the hell was he even doing here?” She was livid.

“I’m not sure, but I intend to find out. Just get Bella out of here. Quickly. Take her back to your place and wait there.” Then he was gone. I missed the contact immediately.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck! Why tonight of all nights?!” I shrank back, afraid she was angry with me for ruining her night. I was unable to find my voice to tell her not to worry about me, but she started snapping out orders like some wartime general. The image was more than a little frightening.

In short order, the men were out to get the cars, while I was being ushered outside. I caught a brief glimpse of Edward before we exited and saw him in deep conversation with a petite woman with strawberry blonde hair. My mood plummeted.


Leah had been on her cell phone since leaving the restaurant. She was currently pacing around a stylishly decorated apartment in one of the nicer areas of the city. It became apparent to me at that moment that sex did indeed sell. Who would have thought owning a place like The Forbidden Room would be so lucrative?

Rosalie, Emmett, Alice, and Jasper sat quietly in the corner and kept shooting worried glances my way. None of us were entirely sure exactly what was going on, but we were all too terrified to ask. Embry was busy playing host and trying to calm everyone’s nerves. Finally, I worked up the courage to speak.

“I’m sorry.” I spoke to the room in general, but my gaze was pinned on Leah. She said something quietly into the phone before snapping it shut.

“And what exactly are you apologizing for?” For a moment, I could only stare at her in confusion.

“I… well, I ruined your evening. Yours and everyone else’s.” Surely they all knew that. Because of me, our evening had been cut short.

“Is that what you think the problem is?” She turned to address Alice and Rose. “Is she always so dense?”

Before I could reply, or even defend myself, there was a knock on the door. I was absolutely stunned when Leah opened the door to reveal none other than Edward. His hair was disheveled, like he had been running his hands through it. As if confirming my suspicions, he reached up and ran his long fingers through his bronze hair.

He nodded a greeting at everyone before making his way over to sit by me. He took my hands in his and looked into my eyes. “Are you okay?”

I was confused by the question. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose between his forefingers. “I apologize, Bella. I should have known better than to approach you at the restaurant that way. Had I known James was there, I would have waited until later, or gotten your name from Leah.” Then he looked into my eyes and his look so tortured.

“Is that what all this is about? That James guy? I don’t understand.”

He shot a look at Leah. “Didn’t you explain anything to her?”

Leah glared at Edward before she snarled at him, “I haven’t exactly had a lot of time now, have I?”

Edward winced before looking repentant. “Right. I’m sorry.” The he turned and looked back at me as he addressed the group as a whole. “I should explain. Please let me finish before any of you interrupt.” He was pleading with me to understand, so I nodded in agreement. “James isn’t exactly into the same types of activities as me or my friends are. He’s into extreme edge play, but mostly he just has a sadistic mean streak and enjoys hurting people. There are rules that we follow in this community, and he’s never been one to stick to them. While he’s never really displayed the true qualities of a Dom, such as control and discipline, he’s never pushed things too far. Until Laurent, and even then it was hard to find conclusive proof that he was being overly careless.”

Edward sighed and ran his fingers through his hair again before he continued. “There have been rumors. Kidnappings. Rape. Torture. Things that I don’t like to speak of, things that people in the BDSM community frown upon. It makes the whole lifestyle look bad when in reality, it’s not. But nothing can be proven, and nothing ever comes of it. The people that have accused him have either changed their minds or they leave the city. Bribery is a high possibility, or threats. I just know people are afraid of him.

The point though, is that word of mouth still holds a lot of value in our community, and no Master I’d associate with would ever give him anything but an extremely poor recommendation. In fact, that’s part of the reason you’re in so much danger now. I’ve been one of the most vocal against him. I’ve told people to stay far away from him. I’ve informed every submissive I’ve known about his kind of ‘play’ if that’s what you want to call it. And for that reason, along with probably a dozen others, he wants to hurt or take anything I show an interest in. Which brings us to you.”

My mind was reeling. Was he really interested in me? I thought something was going to happen at the Ambrosia Café, but then when I saw him with that other woman, I figured I’d been wrong. But here he was, sitting in front of me, basically telling me he was interested in me. I didn’t want to jump to conclusions though.

“I still don’t know if I understand.”

“Bella, do you mind if I speak to you privately for a moment?” He looked up imploringly at the group around us, all of whom were sitting with looks of utter shock on their faces. They all snapped to and made excuses to leave the room, and we were alone again.

“What did you want to talk to me about that you couldn’t ask in front of my friends?”

“I don’t mean to assume, I just think we might be more comfortable if we had this conversation privately.” Honesty shone from his green eyes.

“Alright Edward, what did you want to ask me?”

“First I want to know, no, I need to know why you were at that meeting tonight.”

My cheeks flames and I was eternally grateful he had asked for privacy. “I told you. I was curious.”

“I need more than that Bella. I need to know what exactly it is you want to know, or learn.” He was getting frustrated; I could tell by the way he clenched his fists, like he was trying to will me to say what he wanted to hear. “I need to know if you’re looking for this lifestyle, or if you’re just playing around at it.”

That was blunt. I decided I would be honest with him as well. I looked down a little, so I wasn’t looking directly at him when I answered. “I came tonight to look for a Master, Sir.”

He smiled at the use of the word ‘Sir’ and lifted my chin so I could meet his eyes. “That’s the answer I was looking for.” He brushed the pad of his thumb across my lips. “Would you like for that Master to be me?”

My heart began racing again and I was afraid I would be able to answer. I mustered up all of the courage I had and said, “Yes, Sir.”

He stared into my eyes for an indiscernible period of time before he stood and withdrew a business card from his pocket. He handed it to me and said, “Be at this address tomorrow, 10 o’clock. Sharp.” Then he turned and left.

I don’t know how long I sat there staring at the card before everyone came back into the room, but all I knew was that I was finally in and I had just the man I was looking for. I just prayed I wouldn’t screw this up.