For everyone who's waited so patiently for the sequel to Restraint, it's finally here! Book two of His Empire, Denial, is available now!
To celebrate, I'd like to share an exclusive interview with the man behind the island, Sir Simeon Harvey himself!
***
The scenery is stunning; gently swaying palm trees in the distance and beyond that, a glimpse of blinding white beach. The patio I find myself on is up on the top floor of the twenty-odd story building but it’s actually the man himself who’s making me dizzy. Taking a deep breath, I begin. “So, Sir Simeon, thank you for agreeing to answer a few questions for us today. I know you’re a busy man, so let’s get right to it, shall we?”
“That’d be nice. I’m not getting any younger,” he says with a chuckle, his sleepy amber gaze fixed directly on my bare thigh.
“Um. Yes. Right.” Flustered, I look down at my notes, wishing I’d worn a longer skirt. “Um. You called this island Nox Oasis, which is a very interesting name. May I ask how you came up with that? Does it mean anything special?”
“Well, Oasis is another way of saying paradise—a fertile spot in a desert, where water is found. In other words, a relief from drought. I thought that quite appropriate. And Nox is Latin for night. This island is intended to be a dark paradise, a place where kinky people can get together and be themselves 24/7. You know?”
“That makes sense. Thank you. Second question. What made you decide to build an entire resort centered around BDSM rather than just a club? Surely the logistics of it were—“
“A fucking nightmare?” Simeon interrupts me with a bark of laughter. “That they were.” He leans forward, his eyes gleaming. “There are plenty of wonderful clubs all over the world and they definitely serve their purpose. But I wanted to offer more. The atmosphere of a typical club but in a way that guests could stay for longer… a week, a month if they want to… and have more opportunities to indulge themselves. Most clubs are only open on certain days, certain evenings, for a limited number of hours. Say a Saturday night. What if you’re not in the mood to be flogged on that particular evening between 7 p.m. and 2 a.m.? What if you’re more of a morning person? You have to wait another few days if you want to play outside the home?” He snorts. “Not to mention typical club restrictions. Play stations have their appeal, but your particular thing might be to give a blowjob in public, or to kneel naked beside your Master in a busy restaurant. At Nox, you can indulge pretty much any fantasy you have.”
I realize my mouth has suddenly gone dry and take a sip of water to compose myself. Sir Simeon follows my lead and picks up his espresso. “For a price, though,” I force myself to say, noting the way his eyes narrow, his expression suddenly stern. “I mean… a stay at the resort doesn’t exactly come cheap, right?”
There’s a long pause, during which I can hear my heart pounding and wonder whether he can hear it, too. Finally, he speaks. “I see where you’re going with this question, little girl, but if you’re going to imply that Nox is only for the rich, you’re very mistaken.”
My face is blazing with heat. Little girl? I’m thirty-five! Biting my tongue, I wait for him to continue.
“We do need to charge enough to cover our substantial overheads—and yes, turn a profit—but we also offer programs where people can work at the resort in exchange for a stay. They even get to pick what field they work in; hospitality, cleaning, demo dollies. So essentially, the resort is open to anyone.”
Feeling suitably chastised, I stare furiously at my notes, hoping he doesn’t notice my trembling fingers. There’s just something about this mysterious man with his closely cropped silver hair, commanding aura and those incredibly piercing eyes. And even though something tells me not to, I can’t help it. “Right. That’s… good. And might I ask what exactly a ‘demo dolly’ is?”
The gold ring on his little finger glints in the sunlight as he sets down his empty cup. “We host workshops sometimes, covering all manner of things, from bondage to impact play to edge play. Some instructors bring their own partners or friends to demonstrations… but in case they don’t, I like to have someone available.”
I clear my throat. “So… er… you mean a model of sorts upon whom the… er… things are performed as an example?”
Sir Simeon leans forward and I catch a whiff of his masculine, exotic scent. My fingers tighten on my notebook. “Yes,” he says smoothly. “A demo dolly.”
“I see.” Trying not to wonder who in their right mind would ever volunteer for that particular task, I press on. “Next question. Do you have anything else planned for this island? You already have the resort building and what is probably the world’s first kinky amusement park. Is there anything else you’d like to add here?”
He indicates the area around us with an expansive smile. “Why? Don’t you think this is enough?”
“Of course,” I mutter, crossing out the question and forging ahead with as much dignity as I can muster. He really is most unsettling. “Um. How did you get into BDSM? Did you always know you were kinky?”
Leaning back in his chair, he runs a huge, tanned hand over his closely shorn, silver hair. “Contrary to popular belief, BDSM isn’t something you decide to ‘get in to’ like some kind of fashion trend. You’re either kinky or you’re not. People try… for their partners, for social acceptance, for whatever reason… but that’s usually doomed to fail. It’s not unlike being gay. Either you are or you aren’t. You’re born that way.”
“So you were born that way?” I ask, trying to make sense of his words.
“In a manner of speaking. I realized from a very early age that my fantasies were…” the corners of his eyes crease most handsomely when he smiles, “unusual. So as soon as I hit puberty, I tended to prefer nude magazines where the women were tied up rather than just naked. These days, it’s a lot easier to find like-minded people, thanks to the Internet, but even back then, there were ways and means if you knew how to look. I even did a stint as a paid Dom for a while. God, those were some good times.”
At the sudden look of nostalgia in his eyes, I’m dying to ask for more details, but I know we’ve nearly run out of time. So I drain the rest of my water instead before looking once more at my notebook. “Thank you so much, Sir. One last question, if I may. I’ve been saving this one for last.”
He raises a thick, perfectly groomed eyebrow. “Go on.”
“It’s no secret that you’re… how should I put this? Not a fan of marriage or monogamy, even though plenty of people undoubtedly find true love here…” I make the mistake of looking up and am startled at the intense way he’s looking at me with those honey-colored eyes. “My question is this: do you think you’ll ever… er… change your stance on that? What I mean is—”
“I know exactly what you mean,” he interrupts me curtly. “You want to know whether I’m just some poor, tortured soul who hasn’t find the right girl yet. Whether there’s some special woman out there who is incredible enough to make me give up my hedonistic ways and fall helplessly, irrevocably in love.”
Spellbound, all I can do is nod.
“Why does everyone always ask me that?” He rasps a hand over his jaw and sighs. “I hate to disappoint you, sweetheart, but I very much doubt it. I tried that whole thing once or twice—marriage, monogamy… it failed miserably. I’m polyamorous and I just love women. All women, in all shapes and sizes.” Once again, he gestures around him. “You’re basically asking a kid in a sweet shop to choose just one lolly and enjoy nothing but that for the rest of his life. Impossible.” His grin lights up his eyes in the most disarming way.
“Thank you so much for agreeing to this interview,” is all I can think of to say, then my tummy drops to my toes when he stands up and takes my hand. As I’m still sitting, he’s effectively looming over me, blocking out the sun.
“Anytime,” he says smoothly. Then, “Want to get out of those clothes and thank me properly?”
***
To get your copy of Denial, head on over to Amazon, BlushingBooks, or any online book retailer of your choosing!
All best,
~ Tabby x
