by M. S. Parker
One damn step at a time.
If I was going to do this, though, I needed a little more time to wrap my head around Ambrose’s involvement. I had to separate my feelings toward him from everything else so that I could work with Min. I did believe that Ambrose hadn’t told her the whole truth when it came to why he was sending me work, so I didn’t have any bad feelings toward her at least.
“Do we have a specific day for our return flight?” I asked.
“No, I left it open.”
“What do you think about staying through the weekend and going back on Monday? I’d like to spend a little more time with Kaimi, Sitara, and Rose, and it’d probably be a good idea for me to catch up on any messages or mail in my office.”
He was quiet for a moment, then asked, “I don’t want to assume, but is that an invitation for me to stay too?”
“Definitely.” I smiled at him. “I’d like a chance to show you my city.”
I didn’t add that part of my reasoning was selfish. If I could get him to fall in love with New York, maybe distance wouldn’t be a problem for us. Maybe I was getting ahead of myself, but when my eyes met his, I didn’t think so.
Twenty-Eight
Bradyn
When Nyx said she wanted to show me her city, I’d been thinking of things like the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, Central Park, Times Square. The one thing that hadn’t even come close to crossing my mind was Club Privé.
She’d told me that she’d worked there and that the owners had given her a membership as part of her ‘severance package,’ but that had been back when we’d first met. A lot of things had happened since then, and I’d essentially forgotten about it. The fact that I hadn’t immediately remembered that Nyx belonged to the hottest BDSM club to the east of the Mississippi just showed how absolutely crazy things had been between us.
She’d just chosen to remind me by coming out of her bedroom dressed to stop traffic.
She’d certainly stopped my brain from working.
“We don’t have to go if you don’t want to.”
The uncertainty in Nyx’s voice made me realize that I’d been staring at her without saying a word for an inappropriate amount of time. Not inappropriate because I shouldn’t be looking at her that way, but because I’d made her feel like I was second-guessing going to the club with her.
“Oh, I want to.” My voice was rough enough that I cleared my throat and tried again. “But I might want to bend you over the couch and fuck you senseless first so every time a man looks at you tonight, I can remember that I’ve been inside you already, and I’ll be inside you again.”
Color flooded her cheeks, but she didn’t look down. Not for the first time, I was grateful my particular kinks didn’t include total, traditional submission. I knew that it was possible she would want to be the Dominant one at the club tonight, and I was fine with it. The Dominant alpha part of me got off on giving my partner what she needed. Whatever she needed. And if that included being in charge, then that would turn me on too.
“I’m going to take all of that as a compliment,” she said, her eyes sparkling.
She wasn’t wearing a lot of makeup, but what she was wearing made her eyes look like emeralds. She’d put her hair up in a style that pulled it back from her face but left the waves falling over her shoulders. Against the soft green color – mint maybe – of her dress, her hair almost looked like someone had spun it from rubies.
The top had a halter tie around the back of her neck and a corset-style front, the combination of which immediately drew attention to those amazing breasts of hers. The rest of it clung to her hips and down to mid-thigh where it ended, leaving the rest of her long legs bare. Her heels put her a few inches closer to my height and did wonderful things to her legs. Then she took a couple steps, and I saw that she had two slits up the outside of each thigh that went almost to her hips and flashed the garters at the top of the thigh-highs she was wearing.
Lust twisted low in my gut, a primal desire that was so much more than want, even more than need.
If we didn’t leave right now, I was going to take her, and we’d never make it to the street, much less the club. As much as I liked that idea, I wanted to see Club Privé, and not just because of its reputation. I understood what Nyx hadn’t explicitly said about it. This place was important to her, probably right underneath her PI business, and I wanted to be a part of it as much for that reason as anything else. It had been the place that had given her the ability to take back some of what had been taken from her.
I held out her jacket like a good Southern gentleman and said, “We’re takin’ a cab.”
“Yes,” she agreed. “I never ride the subway in something this nice. I’m always worried I’ll sit in something.”
I smiled down at her. “Hell, no. We’re not ridin’ the subway because I can’t be held responsible for what I might do if you start flashin’ those garters.” I ran the tip of my index finger just below her full lower lip. “Whether we play tonight or not, if you’re in charge or not, you’re mine, little firebird. It’ll be bad enough havin’ men at the club starin’ at you, but at least there’ll be other women there for them. I’m not sharin’ you.”
Her tongue darted out and caught the pad of my finger. “You’d really be okay following my lead tonight?”
My palm rested on her cheek. “Nyx, haven’t you figured it out yet? I’ll follow you anywhere you want to lead me.”
We stood like that for a minute, me giving her the time to process and hoping that I hadn’t crossed a line. When she took my hand from her cheek, my heart about stopped, but then she kissed it, and I could breathe again.
“Let’s go.”
We didn’t really talk on the way over, but she kept her hand in mine, which I took to mean that she was simply quiet and thinking, not reconsidering taking me to a place that meant so much to her. It wasn’t until we were on our way to the door that she spoke.
“I’m still not used to going in through the front door. Even when I visited on my off days before, I used the employee entrance.” She smiled at the large man standing next to the door. “Good to see you, Gil.”
“You too, Nyx.”
And then we were going through the door, into a small entryway where she handed off her jacket to a young woman and greeted her by name, though I didn’t catch what it was. My attention was on the couple in front of us who’d just opened the door, giving me my first glimpse of the club’s interior.
“You just need to sign this form, and then we can go in,” Nyx said, drawing my attention. “Guests have to sign it when they come in with a member.”
“So they know who to yell at if someone gets out of hand?” I was only half-serious. I skimmed the form, not wanting to sign something without at least a glance at it. I didn’t read it completely, though. I trusted her to know that it was okay for me to sign.
“Something like that.” She smiled at me and handed the form back to the brunette who’d taken the jackets. Then she held out a black and gold pin. “Guests wear these too, so members know not to have any expectations of knowledge of either the rules or the lifestyle.”
“That sounds like it came from a rule book.”
She laughed. “Even security knows all the rules and the reasons for them. Right, Adalynn?”
“First thing you do in job training,” Adalynn agreed. “Gotta know the rules before you can enforce them.”
“Makes sense.” I held out a hand to her. “Bradyn Traylor. Pleased to meet you.”
Adalynn shook my hand and gave me an appraising look. “You’re not from around here, are you?”
“Savannah.” I gave her a charming – but not too charming – smile.
She raised an eyebrow and looked at Nyx. “Damn. You got yourself a genuine Rhett Butler here.”
Nyx wrinkled her nose. “I hate Gone with the Wind. Never did see the attraction to Rhett Butler either.”
“I know, I know, you’ve always been a Cary Grant fan.�
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“That’s true.” Nyx winked at me. “But I’m starting to see the appeal of a southern gentleman.”
Adalynn laughed and then turned from us to the pair who’d come in behind us. “Have fun,” she called over her shoulder.
Nyx held out her hand to me, and I took it, threading my fingers between hers. “We will.”
I followed her into the club and was immediately struck by the difference between it and Hades, the S&M club back home. For one thing, it was lighter. Not bright, exactly, but more like Hades had been…dingy. I’d never noticed it before, and I doubted I would’ve seen it at all if I didn’t have this to compare it to now. Hades wasn’t a dump, but I could see why Club Privé was considered the best BDSM club on this side of the country.
It was…magnificent, for lack of a better word.
The décor alone was enough to tell me that the members were more in my parents’ tax bracket than they were mine. If they’d charged only a reasonable fee, it wouldn’t be enough to pay for all of this, even if they packed it in every night. I assumed this was about average for a Friday night, which meant they did good business.
Not surprising when I looked around. They’d done a great job with the design since it didn’t feel as crowded as it was, a feat in and of itself. I had no doubt the rest of the place was equally as impressive.
“The first time I walked in here, I was completely overwhelmed,” Nyx said as the two of us made our way over to the bar. “I had no idea what this place was or even anything about the BDSM world outside of books or movies.”
I watched a mostly naked man being led around by a leash. “That must’ve been a shock.”
“That’s one word for it.” Her face lit up as she spotted someone she knew, and our direction changed to the far end of the bar.
I followed our path with my eyes and realized she was heading for a tall, dark-haired man who looked close to my size. For a moment, I was jealous, thinking she was taking me to meet one of her previous lovers. Before I could tell myself that she wouldn’t do that, I realized that this mystery man had a smaller, blonde woman at his side, and one look at the two of them was enough to know that they were together.
We were only a couple of feet from them when I caught the glimmer of light glinting off a pair of wedding rings. Suddenly, I realized who they might be.
“Nyx! It’s good to see you.” The blonde beamed at Nyx and then looked at me. Chocolate brown eyes narrowed, shrewd and intelligent as they ran down to my feet and back up again.
Damn. I wondered how many people had underestimated that pretty face and later regretted it.
“Carrie, Gavin, this is Bradyn Traylor,” Nyx said. “Bradyn, meet Gavin and Carrie Manning, the owners of Club Privé.”
“How do you do.” I shook Carrie’s hand first and then Gavin’s.
“Well, there’s something to be said for Southern manners,” Carrie said with a grin. “And they sure know how to make them down there too.”
My eyes darted to Gavin, sure I was about to meet the business end of his fist, but he looked amused rather than pissed. His smile widened when he saw me looking at him. His eyes were a dark blue, not brown like I’d originally thought.
“She’s been working at earning a punishment all day.”
Carrie blushed, but I had a suspicion that it was from arousal, not embarrassment.
“This isn’t your first time in a place like this,” Gavin observed.
“It’s not,” I said. “Though it is my first time at any of the Club Privé locations.”
“Locations,” he repeated. “You’d heard of us before this.”
I nodded. “There’s a club in Savannah called Hades, and they’re decent, but nothin’ like this. Everyone there who does more than dabble in the life knows about this place.”
He wore a pleased expression. “We’ve been thinking about branching out again, maybe working with an already-existing club. Would we be welcome in Georgia, do you think?”
“Gavin, we’re not working tonight.” Carrie’s tone changed just enough for me to know that she’d stepped out of the submissive role to address something that was a husband-and-wife thing.
“You’re right.” He leaned over and gave her a brief kiss. “I’m sorry.”
“Actually, Carrie, I had a sort-of work question,” Nyx said. “It’s a legal question, and it has to do with the case I’m working on.”
“All right,” she said. “If you’re planning to use a room, Gavin can take Bradyn to one while you and I talk.”
Nyx looked at me, and I nodded.
“Let’s move somewhere a little less crowded,” Carrie suggested.
As Carrie and Nyx stepped away from us, Gavin turned his attention to me. “Did Nyx say she had any preference about which room you’re using?”
“No. We didn’t actually talk much about what we were going to do here.”
“Let me see what’s open.” Gavin took out his phone and flipped through a couple screens. “I created an app that lets members reserve rooms and also see which rooms are in use. It’s upped member satisfaction by eighty-three percent in just a single quarter.”
I’d honestly wondered if Carrie had been the brains of the operation, and Gavin had been just the connection to this world and the muscle. I’d been wrong. I didn’t doubt that Carrie was also highly intelligent. I just hadn’t realized exactly how strong a power couple the two of them were.
“Follow me.” Gavin started toward the far wall of the club, and the people seemed to automatically move out of the way as he walked, Dominants and submissives alike.
Damn.
A series of doors ran along the wall, hidden well enough that I wouldn’t have seen them if I wasn’t right in front of them. The keypad next to the doors was also discreet. Gavin punched in a number, and a light flashed green. He opened the door and went inside. I followed, impressed by how much the sound was muffled even with the door open.
“This is the room Nyx uses the most. She’ll take care of locking the door when she comes in,” he said. “Unless something’s changed and she wants an audience.”
I chose not to comment on his first statement about this being Nyx’s favorite room. Nyx and I had both had sex with other people. Being jealous of the men in her past would be nothing but destructive. I did address the last thing he’d said, though, more to show that I did actually know some things about Nyx as anything else. “Neither of us are exhibitionists.”
Gavin gave me a searching look, as if he was more insightful than I would have guessed. Considering he’d already surprised me, I figured any other assumptions about him would be pointless.
“You’re not a submissive.” He folded his arms, the stance making the muscles bulge.
I decided it’d be in my best interest to go casual with my body language. My hands went in my pockets, and I answered the statement-question. “No, I’m not. Not completely anyway.”
“You switch?”
“I’m whatever Nyx needs me to be.”
He didn’t respond right away, and I just let the silence sit, letting him figure out whatever was whirling through his mind right now. Nyx looked up to Carrie and Gavin, and their opinion mattered to her. Not as much as her family’s did, but if I wanted things with Nyx to work, I had to pass whatever test Gavin and Carrie sent my way, even if Nyx didn’t know they were doing it.
“You know she doesn’t have any family, right?”
“She does. Kaimi, Sitara, and Rose are her family.”
“Good answer.” He smiled. “If you hurt her, they’ll never find your body.”
Something about the way he said it made me think he wasn’t bluffing or exaggerating. He really could make me disappear. Despite the threat to my safety, I was glad he was that protective of her, and I felt the need to make sure he knew where I stood too.
“This isn’t a fling for me,” I said. “I’m all in.”
“And if she pushes you away?”
I gave him the answer
I’d already decided on. “If it’s because she truly doesn’t want me anymore, I’ll respect her decision. But if it’s because she’s scared, I’ll fight for her.”
Gavin was quiet for a minute, processing my answers before he spoke again. “Carrie doesn’t betray confidences, so I don’t know how much Nyx has shared with my wife about her past, and Nyx hasn’t shared any of it with me, but I have…experiences from my own past that have taught me how to read people, and they tell me that Nyx has had some serious shit happen to her. You might have to fight pretty hard to beat back those demons.”
I locked eyes with him. “I will. She’s worth it.”
He nodded, apparently satisfied. “Good.”
Then he left without another word, and I finally looked at the room I was in.
Damn.
A dimmer switch for the lights was right next to the door, as was a color-coded pad that I assumed changed the lighting, and those two things alone made Hades look cheap. An X-frame cross stood in the middle of the room, held up by chains that led to a winch where – I made another assumption – the cross could be raised or lowered.
The straps on the X were leather but might’ve had releases for changing them out. I moved in for a closer look and confirmed that the restraints were replaceable. I was also close enough now to see that there were other places in the beams where things could be attached. I’d been in this world long enough to at least have an idea of what those things could be.
A large chest of drawers sat against one wall, and a decent-sized bed was against the opposite one. Restraints were at each of the four corners of the bed, leather, like the ones on the X. Different ones were most likely in the drawers, along with any other attachments or toys. At the foot of the bed, on the floor, was what looked like a small footstool, but I figured it was probably more for kneeling, either to give a little comfort to the knees or height, if needed.
“What do you think?”
