A hearty laugh rips out of him. “Have fun, gents,” he says as we get out of the car. We can hear him laughing even as the car is a block away.
“What was that all about?” David asks.
“I don’t know.”
“What’s the name of this place anyway?” he asks.
“Whips and Cuffs,” I mumble as I take giant strides toward the entrance.
“I didn’t get that,” I hear him yell from over my shoulder, but I ignore him as I walk through the door.
The entrance is a dimly lit foyer with three huge bouncers guarding the second door.
“Welcome. Returning or new?” one of the giants asks. I’m a fairly tall guy at six feet four inches, and I have to tilt my head up to see his eyes. Good thing he doesn’t recognize me. For once I’m glad someone isn’t into baseball.
“New.”
By this time, David is right behind me.
“He with you?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay. Here are the rules. You must sign an NDA. Anyone you see inside, you must not speak of outside of this place. If they do not acknowledge you, you cannot speak to them here. Clear so far?”
“Yes.”
The guy is silent. I turn to see what’s happening with David and he’s staring at the guy. I nudge him with my elbow. “Oh, yeah. Clear,” he says.
“Good. Next, absolutely no pictures. Are you carrying?”
“Guns?” I ask.
He huffs out a breath. “Phones or cameras of any kind,” he answers with great disdain. Then he points with his thumb over his shoulder and says, “The guy behind me is gonna pat you down and check for weapons.”
“Oh, damn. I have my phone. David?”
“Yeah, I have a phone.”
“We’ll have to check those for you, and you can get them when you leave. If that’s a problem, then you can’t get in.”
“Not a problem for me. David?”
“No problem.”
“Finally, anything you see in here, you must not discuss outside of this club. Clear? If you do, you will be in violation of this NDA.”
“Okay,” I say.
He pulls out the NDA, and we both sign. He gives us copies and says that he’ll check them with our phones, and we can get them when we leave. Then he hands us a little ticket stub. After that, we pay a fifty-dollar entrance fee, and he puts a band around our wrist.
The guy waits for us and does a quick check for weapons, and then allows us to enter when we pass.
We walk through another door, and it leads us to an elevator. We get on and take it down to the lower level.
“What the hell kind of place is this, Wilde? I’ve never gone to a club that required me to sign an NDA before. Or made me check my phone and get patted down for guns.”
“Yeah well, it’s a …” I don’t get the chance to finish because the elevator doors open, and the explanation is right before us as we stand there. There are men and women who are either cuffed or tied while they are being sucked or fucked. There are all kinds of apparatuses everywhere, giant crosses tilted to stand in Xs, leather benches, and just about anyone one could imagine or beyond. Women and men run the gamut from being fully clothed to completely naked, and there’s no use trying to disguise my astonishment or fascination with the place.
And then, there’s David’s reaction. “Well, I’ll be damned. You never told me you were this kind of hound. No wonder you didn’t want to take me on any tours. This puts a whole new spin on Dolly’s Wood!” And then he lets out a very loud Yahoo that has lots of heads turning in our direction.
I thought I was prepared for this, that I was an adventurous sort. Boy was I wrong. This is so out of my league. There are people having sex in cages suspended from the ceiling. They are fucking against the wall hanging on to leather straps, banging it out in these little see-through cubicles, fucking doggie style over leather benches, women blowing men, men eating women, you name it. There are all kinds of apparatuses on which people are tied, hanging, swinging, flying even, and the thing is, everyone seems to be having a blast. But I feel like the only kid who has been left out of the secret.
And then I think of Gina coming here. Is this what she likes? Does she do it here? With people watching her? Am I even capable of this? Would I be willing to give it a try?
As I gaze around, David looks like that kid who only now discovered that women have tits. My God, he’s loving this. I, on the other hand, am not sure of what to do, how to act.
“First time, huh?” A voice hits me in my ear.
“Uh, yeah.”
“I was like that, too.”
I look at the woman speaking. She’s of medium height and semi-attractive.
“Someone I’m interested in comes here so I thought I’d check it out,” I say.
“You’re just shocked, but once that wears off, you’ll be intrigued. Don’t give up.” She wanders off, and I keep thinking of Gina. You’re a bit too vanilla for me. Her words nail me, and I realize then that I’d love to watch her in here unobserved. See how she really acts, uninhibited. See the real Gina behind the woman she shows me. My vanilla is tossed aside as the idea of that just creates the biggest boner, and I’m going to have to deal with it for the rest of the night, in a sex club no less. But fuck that. Vanilla Ryder is a thing of the past. From now on, I’m going to be raunchy Ryder. And tonight, I plan on picking up a few pointers. Or at least I hope I will.
GINA
Hanging up the phone, I have doubts for the first time about my caller. Victor wants me to come to the club tonight in more ways than are possible. He’s a friend, if you can call one that I hook up with occasionally when the need strikes. We barely exchange words when we’re together, but it’s worked. He’s worked for me when I need to scratch the itch. Because no matter what I let people think about me, I don’t go around sleeping with people indiscriminately.
Now that Cassie is gone more than she’s in town, I have more free time on my hands. And Ryder is a distraction I don’t need. Why can’t he be a douche like every other man out there? Why did Fletcher have to sweep my best friend off her feet and take her away? I hate that I’m lonely without her. I hate that I want what they have. And I hate myself for being a whiny bitch. Get yourself together.
It’s been several months since I’ve hooked up with Victor. Yeah, since I hooked up with Ryder again. Don’t forget that. Decision made to go and hopefully remove the stain that is Ryder from my memory, I pick up my keys just as my phone rings.
“Yeah,” I say, not bothering to look at the display, because only a few people call me.
“Gina.”
The pause is so pregnant, I’m ready to believe I’ve forgotten to take my conversation birth control.
“Dad.” The word sounds so alien on my tongue.
“Yeah, it’s your old man. Not expecting to hear from me, huh?”
“Nope.” That’s an understatement. “Has the bitch died or something?”
“Gina,” Dad admonishes.
“Whatever.” The woman that Dad finally ended up with, after a string of women who seemed to have no end, likes things neat and orderly. To that point, while living with them in my youth, if anything of mine was out of place, she’d throw it away. If I ever had too many clothes, which was more than a week’s worth, she’d toss them out. A couple of times, she’d thrown things away that belonged to Cassie with no remorse. Admittedly, at that time we’d lived in a house so small, my room was barely the size of my current closet, which isn’t big either. But still, I’d learned to hide and hoard things for fear I wouldn’t have anything one day.
“No, Marilyn is fine.”
“Too bad for that.” The bitch hated me and told me on many occasions how I was a waste of space or that my dad cared for her more than me. The latter is still true.
“Look, Gina. Let’s not fight, okay. I called because someone wants to meet you.”
“Who?” I haven’t the faintest idea. Is the bitch pregnant? She’s
old but not too old to have a kid. Or maybe one of Dad’s other flings from the past had his kid. Not impossible.
“Your mother.”
The phone suddenly feels slippery in my hands. That isn’t the worst of it. I lean on the wall to find purchase so I don’t crash to my knees. “What? How?”
“I guess I can come clean now. When your mom left you, there was a bunch of legal documents I had to sign along with my parents. Part of the agreement to get the money—”
“Money?” Anger almost blinds me.
“Money to take care of you. Anyway, we weren’t allowed to tell you who she was more than her first name. Now she wants to meet you.”
The only words I have are, “Fuck her. She’s too late for all that. I have to go, Dad.” I say the last like a curse, then hang up the phone and realize I have the shakes. What the fuck just happened?
Immediately, I dial Cassie’s phone.
“Gina.” The voice doesn’t belong to my best friend.
“Fletcher.”
He chuckles before he says, “She’ll have to call you back.”
“I need to—”
“Her mouth is a bit occupied.”
Disgusted, more with myself, I hang up, because who am I to stop him from getting his happy ending. And what does it matter anyway? There is no way I’m going to meet the woman whose DNA shares space with my dad. And money? There’s no need to ponder how much she and her family paid my grandparents and dad to take me off her hands. That money would be long gone by now.
Slipping my phone into my pocket, I head down the back stairs to my Harley. I straddle the bike like I plan to straddle Victor. I will let him ride me until I can forget that phone call, forget Ryder.
The sound my Hog makes on the open road calms my soul. By the time I park it and walk into the club, I feel more in control.
“Hey,” I say to the bouncer at the door.
He waves me inside, and I take the club in while peeling off my leather jacket. There’s a chill in the air with fall’s arrival, plus the jacket is always welcome while riding my bike. I hand it to the checker along with my phone and house rules.
I’m searching for Victor’s face when he finds me first.
“Hey.” His voice is like velvet, and in the past had me instantly wet.
As I stare into the golden god’s eyes, sadly, my body shows no signs of a response tonight. A certain brown-haired baseball player keeps popping in my head.
“I’ve missed you. I’m surprised you came, seeing that you’ve turned me down several times over the past few months. Are you trying the straight game?”
By straight, he means have I decided to get into a relationship.
“You know I’m not the type.”
He snakes a hand around my waist and starts to pull me close. His lips are a mere inch away when my name rings out.
“Gina.”
That voice is way too familiar, and I have to wonder for a second if I’m daydreaming. Over my shoulder, I get a view of my sex on a stick baseball player. Stepping out of Victor’s hold, I turn to face Ryder. He stands with a giant of a man I don’t recognize.
“What are you doing here?” I ask and hope people don’t think there’s a problem.
“Is there a problem?” Victor asks as if reading my thoughts.
“No, give me a minute, okay?” I say over my shoulder, unable to completely take my eyes off the man before me. He looks damn good, but then he always does. He wears a black T-shirt that shows off his sexy tats and pants that are tight enough to show a hint of the bulge that hides behind there.
Careful steps carry me in front of him. The friend he’d brought along seems amused. I ignore him.
“This isn’t a game, Ryder.”
Leaning down because he’s taller than me, but not by a mile in the heels I’m wearing, he says, “I’m not playing any games. I had no idea you’d be here tonight. I came to see what this was all about.”
“Okay, you’ve seen. You can go now. The show is over, for you anyway.”
His eyes sweep down to the black corset I wear. When he meets my eyes again, I feel exposed, like I should cover myself. I don’t want the vulnerability that consumes me.
“I’ve seen. And damn, Gina, I can’t take my fucking eyes off you.”
“Well, you’re going to have to.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re leaving. This isn’t your scene, and don’t pretend otherwise.”
Unfortunately for me, he doesn’t back down. “Maybe if you let me try…”
“See, that’s the thing. You’ve already made assumptions about me and haven’t even asked.”
“Look at the assumptions you’ve made because maybe I don’t want to fuck you in plain sight. I’m not sure—”
I cut him off, “Of course you’re not. I’m not an exhibitionist, Ryder. Not everyone here wants to be watched. Some want to do the watching. And this is why we will never work. I come here because I fit in. People here don’t judge me for how or why I enjoy sex, like you have in the last twenty seconds.”
His expression, the way his eyes heat, and the half-grin that curves his sexy mouth tell me his ego wants to cheer, but he’s smart enough not to say anything. I guess he knows I’m right in that he did make assumptions about me.
“I think it’s time for you to leave. Besides, I have a partner for the night.”
His eyes instantly grow cold, and he looks over my shoulder. “And what does he have that I don’t?”
“He knows exactly what I need.”
He backs up as if I took a swing at him. He narrows his gaze on me. “Really, because if I remember correctly, I got you off more than once each time we were together. Seems to me, you want—”
“A boyfriend. Absolutely not.”
“Have you never had one? Not that I’m offering. Just curious.”
Wanting to end this standoff, I close the distance between us. “As a matter of fact, I have. You’ve met him. Mark.”
His eyes widen. I’m surprised he didn’t know. Then again, what reason would that information have to come up in conversation until now?
“Yes, and he and I parted as friends, as I hope we can, too.”
His mouth opens slightly, and because I want to slip my tongue in there, I turn away. Taking ahold of Victor’s hand, I lead him out of the club, stopping only to get my phone and jacket.
“Is he the reason you haven’t been around to play in a while?” Victor asks when we reach my bike.
“Does it matter?” I toss back.
He half-turns, and I see Ryder walking out. He picks up something from the ground before Victor captures my attention again.
“A piece of advice?”
Not really. “Go for it.”
“This lifestyle can’t last forever. If you find someone you jell with, you should give it a shot. Eventually, I’ll find that partner I can’t live without.”
“Not sure if I should be insulted by that,” I snark.
Chuckling, he says, “You know we have fun. But neither of us has ever really bothered to get to know one another. That says a lot.”
He’s right. “Look, I think I’m going home.”
Brow raised, he asks, “Alone?”
“Yeah, I’m just not in the mood anymore.”
He leans in and speaks so close to my lips, I think he’s going to kiss me.
“Even if you aren’t the one for me, he’s a lucky guy. Make him work for it.”
Straightening to his full height, he winks at me. When he walks toward his car, he calls back, “Make sure to be ready.”
Ten paces away, I see the wild fury that rages in Ryder’s eyes. I slip on my helmet and gun my engine out of the parking lot. I don’t quite understand the possessiveness I saw in him. We barely know each other. Dark desires rage in me, though. The idea he might go back into the club and find someone else to spend his evening with has me pushing the speeding limits.
About an hour later at home, I’m scrapin
g the bottom of a Cookies ’n Cream pint of ice cream because I was out of Double Chocolate Fudge, when a knock comes at my door.
Maybe Sam, my boss of the Dirty Hammer downstairs, needs me to fill in for someone. I’d turned my ringer off when I got to the club and hadn’t turned it back on.
It’s my mistake for not checking the peephole, which is a bad thing as a single woman living alone.
“Is he still here?” Ryder says, checking over my shoulder for guests.
“That’s none of your business. I feel like I’m repeating myself, but why are you here, Cowboy?”
“Cowboy?”
“Yeah, you clearly think this is the OK Corral, and you’ve come to mark your territory. How did you know where I lived?”
When he’d shown up in my bar that time so long ago, I didn’t bring him back here. I don’t bring guys I don’t know back to my place, ever. So he’d sprung for a hotel room that we’d made good use of.
“I’m not here to mark my territory. Sam told me.”
I’m surprised. Sam is more protective of me than my own father. For him to tell some random guy where I lived knowing I’m vulnerable up here alone… well, Sam and I would have a talk. Ryder is still talking. “You dropped this.” He holds up my phone. “I like the sparkle.”
Needing to get away from him fast earlier, I’d pushed my phone into my pocket, or so I thought I had. I snatch the thing from his grasp. The bling on the phone had been an inside joke, and I hadn’t changed the case as it gave me a little laugh every time I saw it.
“Thank you,” I say sweetly. “You can leave now.” He moves past me, causing me to sigh heavily. “So, what, are you going to take that big dick of yours out and piss on my floor so no other man will come over?”
He turns and nearly trips over some knickknack of mine I can’t get rid of.
“Jesus, Gina, it’s like a jungle in here. What’s with all the stuff?”
Waving a finger at him, I say, “I wouldn’t comment any further. This is my place, and two more strikes and you’re out of here. You can understand that language, can’t you?”
His mouth opens then closes. “Fine, but you were talking about my big dick.” A smirk sprouts on his face like alfalfa. “Dressed like that, I have to assume you told the other guy to fuck off.”
Fastball (Wilde Players Dirty Romance) Page 4
