Muse [18+] • REVISING

03 | The Valley

V E R A

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The first section of the floor was everything dedicated to paintings, statues, and sculptures, as well as erotic films being projected onto one of the walls. Cordelia walked ahead of me, towards two big french doors, and pulled both of them open.

The second section was a much more private setting. The main event. Anything that was wood, was a dark walnut, similar to Mr. Dupont's office. The walls were painted an opaque cherry color as well as all of the furniture details following suit with even darker shades of red. The room smelt reminiscent of Cordelia's scent—rose, leather, musk, with a trace of mint. A clean essence. Rich sex. There were a bunch of different furnishings and objects scattered throughout the room.

Between racks full of restraints, canes, whips, and paddles and the four-poster California king bed that sat in the corner, with more restraints placed at the top—the entire room was filled with everything having to do with the BDSM lifestyle.

Despite the room being filled with intimidating contraptions, there was a very intimate feeling that blanketed the space. Maybe it was the materials of velvet and silk that dressed up the furniture or possibly the dim lighting. Whatever it was, the area gave off a specific kind of warmth that I was fond of.

"Oh my..." I breathed, trying to collect my thoughts and form a proper sentence.

"I know." Cordelia replied, a smile lighting up her face. "From the way you were enamored with the works from the photographie érotique section, I'm going to assume you know a bit about BDSM, no?"

"I-I know of it but I'm not entirely sure what the lifestyle entails, aside from some knowledge I have on the relationship between a dominant and submissive." I confirmed. While I was intimidated by everything in front of me, my curiosity overpowered that feeling.

"Understood. Well, as one of your jobs here is being an exhibit designer, meaning you're in charge of displaying everything in a way that appeals to the audience—you will become well acquainted with the many pieces that make up this museum, these sections included." She explained, walking towards the middle of the room.

"So tell me, what do you think?" She asked, gesturing to everything around her.

"This isn't an official tour either, Miss Adams. We have a code of secrecy in this museum, meaning that whatever is said or experienced here, stays within these walls. Be honest with how you're feeling, an artist's expression is based on candor." She reassured, allowing me to feel comfortable.

I walked towards a wooden rack that had a bunch of objects made out of different materials like leather and rope, to name a few, hanging off of it.

"Am I allowed to touch them?" I asked, looking towards Cordelia. She nodded.

"Don't worry, everything is sterilized. We get a new shipment of almost every tangible thing in this room once a month, you know, as this is an interactive exhibit. Although, not a lot of people find their way into this room." She explained, walking towards me.

As my hand came into contact with the cold material of one of the leather objects, I took it off the rack to further examine.

"These are floggers. They're used during something called impact play where the dominant whips their submissive with the lashes of this." She chimed, running her fingers through the lashes of the flogger made out of rope.

Hanging the leather item back onto the rack, I walked towards the back right corner of the room where there was a big wall restraint, with a bunch of red vinyl-covered cushions placed in the shape of an X. I stood on my tippy toes to try and feel for the leather cuffs at the top.