“I’d wondered where you’d run off to,” he gestured to the table, his gaze going along her body. “You might want to shed the dress.”
“Oh…oh, no…I didn’t bring money with me…”
“If you’re a member, and since you’re here, you’re a member, it’s all part of the club,” he looked her over thoughtfully. “I saw you with one of the owners.”
“I…we’re married…” she answered, coming to an understanding of how to tell the difference between a sub and Dom. He definitely had the same steel and demeanor around him that broadcast his status clearly. She looked down quickly. “I just had a question about Mistress Louisa. I didn’t mean to listen in, but…”
“With the walls being non-existent, it’s not hard to overhear things.” He pushed away from the table and walked slowly around her, one hand out to lift her chin. “Collared and a wedding ring. Tanner doesn’t take any chances. Just a question, huh?”
“Does she play here?” Vianne had been working the correct words to use in her mind on the way there and hoped she got it right.
“Louisa doesn’t play with females,” he said carefully. “And I’m not sure your Master would approve of an association with her. She’s got an edgier reputation than you might be ready for.”
Vianne sighed, meeting his gaze and hoping she wasn’t stepping on toes. “I’m not looking for her for me. More for…information…for a friend.”
She wasn’t sure he was buying her story; that was evident in his eyes. It was the absolute void of anything that fascinated her. She’d tried to cultivate that look for most of her adult life and never managed it.
“Make certain you discuss this with the man who collared you, pet. He won’t be pleased if you don’t.”
Vianne knew that expression. That patiently waiting look that had her spine stiffen but the defiance kept carefully in check.
“Yes, Sir.”
“Since I know he’s been out of the lifestyle for a while, he probably wouldn’t have been able to answer your question and that’s the only reason I’m going to,” he moved to stand against the stationary table, arms up and crossed over his chest. “Louisa doesn’t generally come here. Independence has perhaps a thirty-five percent singles clientele. She’s never settled for very long with one partner. I’m not sure they’d survive her on a regular basis. She spends most of her time at an uptown club in Seattle, Bound and Tied,” he offered a little shrug at the look on her face. “Not original, but it works for the single crowd who like to play occasionally or the odd one who wants to hide out.” Shane raised an eyebrow at the look that crossed her face. “This is about the guy Avery was talking about, isn’t it?”
“I really seriously need to figure out how you guys do that,” she murmured testily and sighed. “Yes. I believe he’s the father of a friend of mine. And I just want to…I want to confirm it before I talk to her.” She paced the small area.
“Well, you’ll find her at the Bound and Tied most any Friday or Saturday from about six on,” he answered carefully. “But don’t go there alone, little sub. They aren’t nearly as civilized as we are here.”
“I won’t. Go alone, I mean. Thank you, Sir,” she said quietly, turning and heading toward the restaurant, the discretely etched signs on the walls a really big help. She sighed in relief when she saw Tanner watching the corridor. She couldn’t stop the smile when he came to his feet and crossed the room to take her hand and carry it to his lips. “I tried to be quick.”
“Who were you talking to?” He led her to the table and handed her the menu before sitting down to watch her.
“I…” she blinked at him, trying to recall if the guy had a name plate or not but all she saw were a pair of snug leather pants. “He didn’t have a shirt on. Just leather pants. He was giving massages in a little cubicle.”
“Shane Stuart,” Tanner said with a nod. “American Indian features…a long scar down one side of his face…” he saw the answer in her eyes. “He’s a friend. What does this have to do with Erika?”
Vianne took a fast look down the choices and set the elegantly drawn up menu to the side. She smiled up at the waitress that appeared with a tall glass of water. “I’ll have the club sandwich, please.”
“Roast beef au jus,” Tanner responded to the patient look from the young woman. “Thank you.”
“Do you know a club called Bound and Tied?” Vianne asked when they were alone again.
Tanner continued to stare at her. “It’s what you might call a sub of Independence. We helped a friend start it and have a thirty percent stake in the club. Why?”
“I need to go there. Maybe tomorrow night?” She hedged with a hopeful look.
“Why?” He repeated patiently, but the tone in his voice had become slightly more chilled. He’d become more than good at reading people and his wife was becoming his specialty.
She swallowed wondering how he managed to get so much steel control in a single word. She found herself wondering about the seventeen year old and yet she could still see glimpses of him now that her memory had been jarred.
“I want to see if someone named Mistress Louisa will speak to me about Neil Vincent,” Vianne let the words rush out in a low flurry, wincing at the unreadable expression on his face. “Your friend warned me not to go alone.”
“What else is there, Vianne?”
“The man with him, Avery, said he’d seen Adam and the candidate at the same club. And that they saw Neil Vincent there, but I don’t have a time line to know when this all happened.”
Tanner considered what she was telling him, the points in the forming star beginning to join and make more sense. Several long minutes seemed to float around them, their sandwiches laid out before them in the silence.
“Thank you,” Vianne lifted one wedge and took a big bite. She was starving.
“You think Wayne and Richardson caught Vincent at the club playing with Louisa,” he said slowly, his voice just for the two of them. “And they decided to cash in on the information. How does Erika fit the square?”
Vianne waved her palm, one finger raised as she chewed quickly and swallowed before speaking.
“Erika inherited stock in the company. I only found out before you kidnapped me and made me your love slave that there was tension between her and her father over her beliefs with how the company should proceed,” Vianne waited while he choked on a mouthful of the sandwich he’d ordered.
“Kidnapped you?”
“That is not the topic at the moment,” Vianne said with an admonishing finger raised at him. “Now, I checked with Carter who verified some information with Erika’s attorney…some attorney to attorney thing, I think…” she frowned and chewed thoughtfully. “Evidently the way the stock was designated, was that it would belong to Erika, but be under the control of her husband.”
“Archaic,” Tanner said simply, dipping his sandwich in the spicy broth and biting down in thought. “Which is now a moot point since she’s definitely married to Zee.”
Vianne sighed around another bite. “Unless something were to happen to Zee.”
“So basically, the old man backs Richardson in exchange for Erika marrying Wayne to give Vincent back control of his company.”
“I’m guessing the dialogue opened up a little more once they found Neil Vincent with Mistress Louisa,” Vianne sighed and finished her sandwich. “That was delicious.”
“We have a couple good chefs here,” Tanner commented absently. “What are you going to do now?”
“First, alert Zee,” Vianne pushed the plate back and leaned her elbows on the tabletop. She knew she was staring. She knew there might be something strange in her eyes when she saw him now. What she didn’t quite understand is why he didn’t tell her up front. She might have walked away. Her lips curled just a little. Okay, she might have tried to walk away. But somehow she knew that Tanner wouldn’t have allowed it to happen this time without her knowing just what she was walking away from.
“Vianne?” T
anner frowned but a smile still pulled at his lips when she seemed to blink back from wherever her thoughts had taken her. “Let’s go home. You can give Zee a message once we’re in the car. No phones inside the club. Want to share where you keep drifting off to?”
He stood and took one of her hands, pulling her to stand before him. His palms immediately caressed over her sides and onto her behind, his groin pressing solidly into her softness.
“We’re still basically on our honeymoon,” Vianne said softly, tilting her face back and going to her toes, her arms raised and circling his neck.
“I don’t plan on letting that fade on us, Vianne,” Tanner whispered before kissing her. “I’ve spent too long trying to put feelings into words that just evade me when it comes to you. There’s a buoyancy and life inside me I hadn’t felt in ages and I’m smart enough to know it’s because of you…because of us,” he corrected when she opened her mouth. “Let’s go home.”
Vianne nodded and relaxed against him. She still felt small next to him but the touch of his hand possessively against her waist made her feel safe, protected like she’d never felt before. Even wearing almost nothing, she thought as they walked back through the increasing collection of people on a Friday night. Along with the people, the styles and variety of clothing had slipped off the charts.
And she’d thought she’d spent a lot of time in primitive cultures. When Tanner stopped to speak to someone, she couldn’t keep herself from taking in one extreme outfit after another. She had to wonder about the leather and the humidity that formed from all the people and sweaty sex. How could it possibly be comfortable? But then, they did shed them occasionally for the sweaty sex part, she thought.
“Vianne…” Tanner waited until she looked at him. “I’ll be back in a few minutes. I’m going to talk to Colin about something to do with upgrading the external security cameras.”
She nodded and watched him go. He’d left her in the main play chamber. Slings, and swings and chains dangled from the ceiling. Some with people entangled in them, some empty. Benches and saw horse shapes covered in dark leather filled other scene sections. Crosses dotted the walls with men and women attached; some displayed frontally; others with very pink backsides arching toward whatever they were being beaten with.
She moved to stand outside one scene. The types and variations of what they called spanking benches must depend on the person designing things. Some were simple and straight-forward. Shackles on either side and a kind of saddle in the center for the person to bend over. Her eyes went to the floor where the sawhorse would be adjusted for the height of the person. Others were a lot more complex, bending the person almost like a pretzel with flanks exposed and genitals dangling in some cases.
“Ow!” Pale lashes flew wide, her head pulled back when a hand shoved into her hair and pulled until she was on her toes.
“Your eyes should be on the floor, sub,” a hard voice growled next to her ear.
“I…I…” Vianne blinked at the stinging tears, trying to focus on the man holding her. Surely having the collar should make a difference. Not to mention her hands on the thick wrist, trying to claw them free. Her wedding rings were very visible and totally ignored.
“Eye down, bitch.”
“Let me go,” she said clearly. But another word came to mind when he just tightened his grip on her hair. “RED!” Vianne pulled all her energy into that one word at the same time he tried shaking her.
Shane Stuart had been making his way across the large, open chamber when he saw the man make the mistake of touching her. He made it to her side just as she shouted the safe word, his palm up and thumb digging painfully into the larger man’s wrist.
Vianne felt his hold break from her hair at the same time Shane’s arm came around her waist and caught her before she hit the floor.
“Thank you,” she whispered, one palm up to massage her scalp while the other gripped the muscled forearm holding her up.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” The dom demanded, ready to take a swing until another monitor grabbed his arms and pulled them behind him. “What the…fuck! Let me go! She’s a sub! She should be trained better…”
“She’s not your fucking sub and she wasn’t doing anything but watching scenes. Subs are permitted to watch scenes,” Shane set her to the side, one hand beneath her chin. “Are you alright?”
“Yes, thank you, sir. I…I don’t know what I did…”
“You didn’t do anything,” he turned to the man, his head tipped to look into his eyes. “Escort him out and cancel his membership. He’s using.”
“The fuck you can’t do that! I want to see one of the owners!” He struggled and broke free, stumbling forward and thrusting his chest out toward Shane with a shove.
“Hold him,” Shane ground out flatly, the two security monitors immediately gripping the man’s arms. “What’s your name?”
“John Lewis,” the man almost spat the words out, continuing to pull despite the very firm grip the monitors had on his arms.
“Well, John Lewis, let me show you how it feels,” Shane moved before the man could respond, his hand up and shoved through the shaggy brown hair. His fingers closed with a firm grip and lifted, just as John Lewis had done to Vianne. He kept the motion up until he saw the man struggling to the toes of his boots. “How’s that feel?”
Tanner had just caught sight of Vianne when Shane lifted the man in leathers and a vest from the floor. He made it through the gathering crowd, instantly aware of the tear streaks on his wife’s face. He was about to speak when she saw him, her look full of apprehension and a little distress.
“Fuck you! Let me go! It takes fucking three of you to hold me!” He twisted and was only held more firmly.
“What happened?” Tanner demanded, his gaze on Vianne as his hands framed her face. “Are you alright?”
Vianne nodded quickly and stepped into his arms.
“Let me lay out some of the things that happened,” Shane began in a low, controlled tone that was harder than the flooring. “First, you’re privileges will be revoked and you won’t be welcome back. Second, you’re using.”
“Fuck you,” came the repeated answer. “I want to see one of the owners.”
“You’ll submit to a drug test.”
“The hell I will.”
“It’s in your terms of agreement. You signed them. You were clearly apprised of the rules for participating at the club,” Shane responded simply. “Next, you ignored the fact that you never – never – touch a sub without either their permission or the permission of their Dom. You touched a sub who was not only minding her own business in a public area, but a sub that is clearly collared and wearing wedding rings. A sub who was watching a scene and in no way interfering with anyone or anything, least of all, you.”
“What happened?” Tanner demanded, his attention finally shifting to Shane and then to the man being held up by his hair.
“John here felt it was his right to admonish a sub for not having her eyes on the floor,” Shane said flatly, finally releasing the man but not taking his eyes off him.
“Get his paperwork and mark it terminated,” Tanner said tonelessly. “And consider yourself fortunate.”
“I want a fucking review! The contract says I can ask for a review by one of the owners!” He demanded loudly, struggling against the hold they had on him.
“You’ve been reviewed,” Tanner informed him coldly, looking at the two monitors. “Put my name on the termination papers and circulate his name and photo ID to Bound and Tied. I don’t want a drug user in either of the clubs.”
“Yes, sir, I’ll take care of it now,” one of the men said curtly, nodding to his partner and dragging the complaining man toward the exit.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t see him grab her until she called out the safe word, Tanner,” Shane shook his head, flexing his fingers and rubbing his palm along the scar at the side of his face.
“Not your fault. I shouldn’t have left her al
one,” Tanner reluctantly loosened his arm when she pushed against his chest.
“Neither of you is at fault,” she said stubbornly. “It was his fault. I’m fine. I’m tough enough and would have…reacted differently if I hadn’t been distracted,” Vianne worked to stifle her yawn. “Excuse me…Sirs…” she suddenly remembered what she said and how she said it, biting her lip and peeking up at the two tall men through her lashes.
“You’re safe, pet,” Tanner pulled her against him. “Nice seeing you again, Shane. I’ll be around and we’ll talk more.”
“Take care of your little sub,” Shane nodded and offered one of his rare smiles as they walked toward the entrance.
Tanner wrapped her in the shawl from the coat room and walked her through the spring darkness to the SUV.
“He seems sad,” Vianne said after he joined her inside the SUV. She listened to the engine turn over and turned in the seat to watch him drive.
“Shane did a few tours in the Middle East. Then he did some training before leaving the Marines and moving here. I’m not sure he’s completely recovered,” Tanner lifted one of her palms from her lap. “I’m sorry you were hurt, Vianne. I don’t know…you should have been safe there.”
“I was safe, Tanner. Stop blaming yourself. Another few seconds and I would have reacted with a heel to the balls once my brain registered that his behavior was not part of the way it was supposed to be,” Vianne put her other palm around his. “So. Forget about it, please. I’m okay. The people…the monitors…were there almost the instant I yelled.”
“We wanted the place to be a safe haven for people indulging that side of themselves,” Tanner said quietly.
“I’m very glad you shared it with me. I like your friends,” she watched a confusing mix of emotions cross his features. She knew he’d talk to her in time and curled against him, her sigh long and contented.
“I’m glad, too, Vianne.” He finally admitted as he pulled into the spot in front of the condo. He knew those words were far too mild for what he was feeling, what he had been feeling since she’d awakened that part of him again. To find out the woman he loved wanted to walk into that part of his life and enjoy it with him had stunned him. A part of him still expected to wake and discover he’d dreamt the entire thing.
WindSwept Narrows: #22 Erika & Vianne Page 33
