“Interesting.” Sawyer crossed his foot over his ankle. “Do you plan on bringing her to CS tonight?”
Though Kyler liked the thought of bringing Ella to Club Sin, he didn’t know how to broach the subject with her. So, I like to fuck in public, engage in kinky sex play, and demand submission—whatcha think?
He shook his head. “She has submissive tendencies, and from what I’ve seen of her, she seems to like kink, but I can’t gauge how she’d react. I need to get to know her better before I go there.” He couldn’t drop that bombshell on her until he knew she wouldn’t run away screaming.
This thing between them wasn’t something he was ready to give up just yet.
Sawyer pushed off the lockers with a grin. “Why don’t you run it by Dmitri and see if he’ll let you bring her by?”
Kyler was aware he’d need Dmitri’s permission to bring Ella into Club Sin, especially considering he doubted she would jump right in, sign the agreement, and allow him to play with her in front of others. “I could, but I need to have that conversation with her.” He placed his other boot on the bench and laced it up. “I think a first date should happen before I shock the shit out of her.”
Sawyer laughed. “Have fun tonight. I should be in the club around ten o’clock.” He smacked Kyler’s back. “Knowing you, I’ll see you there later.”
Kyler froze with the laces pinched between his fingers. “What exactly is that supposed to mean?”
Sawyer raised his brows. “Patience does not exist in your personality.” He turned, heading out of the locker room, and his loud laughter followed him.
Snorting, Kyler finished lacing up his boot. True, he had never been patient with Club Sin submissives. That’s what made Ella such an appealing challenge. Teaching her would be like reintroducing himself to BDSM—and he’d get to do it with her, through her eyes, all over again. It allowed for freshness, which had been lacking in his life.
Could he get her to submit?
He didn’t know, and that made his muscles quiver. He liked the challenge Ella represented. Christ, he simply liked her.
A smile crossed his face as he reached for his car keys along with his duffel bag on the bench, and then he strode through the musky locker room. Once out in the light blue painted hallway, he passed by the Drug Unit and the Homicide Squad, when someone called his name.
Glancing to his left, he discovered his father in his office. Chief of Police Andrew Morgan looked stern and proud sitting behind his desk. His father waved at Kyler as he chatted with someone on the phone.
He entered the spacious office and his father gestured for him to shut the door. He complied and dropped down into the chair in front of his father’s light oak desk, which was completely covered with case files. Stretching his legs out, he stared at his father barking commands into the telephone.
Amused by his dad’s gravelly voice, Kyler knew his father was a force to be reckoned with. Andrew held this station together through all the ups and downs, and Kyler was proud to be his son. As the dad of four young boys, his father had always attended sports games—he’d been the dad wrestling with his sons on the lawn. As the father of grown men, he was still a man Kyler could respect and was one of the best men he’d ever known.
When his dad finally hung up the phone, he remarked, “Sometimes I feel like I’m talking to a brick wall.” The frustration faded from his face, replacing itself with a smile that softened his blue eyes. “How was your shift, son?”
“Good.” Kyler laced his fingers behind his head. “Dealt with one woman who was beaten to a bloody pulp, but other than that, the shift went smoothly.” He never understood, no matter how much he tried, why women stayed with their abusers. He’d been called to the same location at least three times.
Of course, he understood there were mental and emotional connections there for the victim, but if it were his sister, he would tie her ass to a chair until a therapist broke that connection. As a Dom, it solidified his intent to protect women. Especially those dealing with complete assholes for husbands.
As a cop, he could do only what the law allowed him.
“Glad to hear it.” Andrew leaned back in this chair, sending it to squeak beneath him. “A detective position is coming up. You’ve been on the force now for almost ten years—should I request that you be slotted for the test?”
Kyler knew the politics of the game. He’d pass the test, of course, but he’d get the job simply because he was Andrew’s son. That’s why Kyler had never applied for a detective position. He didn’t want a handout. “Nah, I’ll pass.”
His father frowned. “You need to keep moving up, son, or you’re going to become stagnant.”
The subject had been a sore spot between them for years. His brothers, who were also cops, except the lone one who’d shirked tradition and become a firefighter, had moved rapidly up the chain of command. But Kyler was content. “I prefer dealing with living people, as you know.”
Andrew’s eyebrows drew together before he heaved a sigh. “All right, it’s your choice.”
Kyler inclined his head, thankful his father gave in. Before, when this subject had come up, the argument had become heated. He didn’t want to deal with only death and the evil that came with it. While he liked the idea of saving lives, he preferred saving the living.
Being a cop was personal. Everyone had their reasons for doing the job, and those reasons were Kyler’s. Besides, he held the role of supervisor, and Kyler always thought he’d work his way up the chain of command that way, or apply for some other role that didn’t involve murders. But he’d do it on his own terms, not his father’s.
All the tension faded from his father’s gaze as he added, “Mom wants to have you boys over for a dinner. She’s already talked to your brothers, and everyone is free not this Thursday but the following one. Does that work for you?”
“Of course.” Even if Kyler had plans, he’d break them. It was harder to get everyone together with his brothers starting families and busy with their lives. And his mother made a killer roast beef, which was her typical meal when they all got together.
With an awkward smile and raking his hand through his salt-and-pepper-colored hair, his father asked, “Will you be bringing anyone with you?”
Kyler snorted.
Judging by his father’s level of discomfort, Kyler assumed his mother had forced his dad to ask that question to dig into Kyler’s personal life. A year ago, Kyler had put a dead stop to her endless questions about his love life. It became too complicated to offer excuses to avoid the fact that the real reason he wasn’t dating was because he was playing with submissives in the dungeon. Every once in a while a question would come like this in a nonchalant way. “Possibly.”
His father’s thick eyebrows rose. “Possibly?”
“There’s someone new.” Kyler folded his arms across his chest. “I’m just not sure Ella would want to be bombarded by the Morgan clan so soon.” Christ, he hadn’t even gone on a date with Ella and he was already planning to take her to meet his family and maybe bring her into Club Sin.
He wouldn’t pretend that didn’t mean something.
Which was exactly why he believed something special existed between them. He hadn’t had that instinct about a woman in a long time. He knew himself, knew what he wanted, and that was Ella. Not only for nights of hot pleasure, but, he hoped, for the real woman inside her.
The only thing standing in his way was her, and her insistence to keep things casual.
“All right,” his father said with a sparkle in his eyes. “I’ll let your mother know that you’re dating someone and she might be joining us.”
Kyler chuckled, rising from his seat. “Which I’m sure will lead to a hundred questions that will annoy you.” He opened the door and turned to his father. “I’m off this weekend, so I’ll see you Monday.”
Before Kyler could step out of the office, his father asked, “Is Ella a nice girl?”
Kyler glanced over his shoulder
and grinned. She’s sexy, and a little vanilla with a sweet submissive side. “Yeah, she’s nice.”
Chapter Nine
In a restaurant located in one of the top casinos along the Vegas strip, Ella folded her napkin over her lap. She looked to the glass wall with hundreds of wine bottles behind it. Then she glanced around the fancy five-star restaurant, enjoying the romantic atmosphere, with dim lights and candles on the white linen tables.
Wowzers.
Savannah had upscale restaurants, but she’d never been to one this grand. From the sleek black marble bar, to the crystal chandeliers, to the overall luxurious modern décor, she was in awe. And yeah, she was more than slightly stunned by the man sitting in front of her.
Kyler watched her with those piercing eyes and his mischievous smile, and she experienced the weight of his stare right down to her toes. He always seemed to be looking right through her, reading into her in a way that no one had before him.
With a dry mouth, she reached for her wineglass and took a large sip of her red wine. Part of her liked how he examined her. It made her feel special. The other part of her wanted to run away from his long studies. It sure seemed like he wanted to know everything about her, and he appeared to be on a full mission to do exactly that.
While most women might like his attentiveness, it induced nervous butterflies to set flight in her belly. Her past she wanted to keep to herself. She didn’t want to get that emotionally entangled.
Maybe Rory’s phone call earlier remained on her mind, but unease was like a cloud hanging over her. She almost wanted to talk to Kyler about it. He was a police officer. If anyone understood what she was going through, it’d be him. But her past was embarrassing, and the idea of sharing it made sickness roll through her.
Don’t look weak.
She’d always been a strong woman and had prided herself on that. She’d been through a lot in her twenty-six years, and she didn’t want sympathy to cross Kyler’s face when he discovered she was a woman who once had been pushed around. She wanted to leave the past behind her and live in the present.
“Are you ready to order?”
Ella broke eye contact with Kyler and realized they’d been staring at each other for a few minutes saying nothing at all. Seriously, Ella! Why in the hell was she thinking about Rory? She swallowed the heady emotion, looking to the young waiter.
“What’s the special tonight?” Kyler asked in a tight voice.
She felt his stare on her, but she kept her attention on the waiter. Desperate to pull herself back together, she pushed the thoughts of her past deep inside her. For some reason—and she couldn’t pinpoint why—being around Kyler made her want to shed it all.
Besides, wasn’t that a rule: Don’t talk about past lovers while out with other men?
“Our special tonight is the Trippa alla Fiorentina,” the waiter said.
Ella had no idea what that was, but that’s what she was going for. Try things you never would have done before. “Okay, I’ll get that.”
“Do you know what it is?” Kyler asked with an amused voice.
She turned to him and pointed. “Don’t tell me.” To the waiter, she said, “Just get me that Trippa thingy.”
With a smile, the waiter wrote it down on his notepad, then he asked Kyler, “And for you?”
“I’ll take the Brasato,” Kyler replied.
“Very nice.” The waiter took the menus off the table. “The beef short ribs are delicious. Your dinners will be out shortly.”
As the waiter strode off, Ella glanced to Kyler and spotted his frown. She laughed. “What?”
“You have strange ordering habits,” he muttered.
She continued laughing, somewhat glad all his intensity had faded. She also understood; her habits were odd. “It’s my live-my-life-like-I’m-going-to-die-in-six-months challenge.”
Kyler’s brows shot up to his hairline. “Come again?”
“I know how weird that sounds.” She glanced to the couple who strode by their table, led by the hostess. “I took up a challenge I heard on the radio. The announcer offered a dare that each person live out their life like they’re going to die in six months.”
He regarded her. “Because you’d live differently?”
“Wouldn’t you? I mean, if you only had six months left, wouldn’t you do things differently?”
“No.” He slowly shook his head, and his expression showed very little. “I wouldn’t change anything.”
Somehow his answer didn’t surprise her; he seemed to know himself, inside and out. While she’d always been strong, she also hadn’t been that put-together until recently. Only now did she live on her terms and engage in daring things to learn more about herself. Her life had been consumed by death and pain, which clouded what she wanted for her life.
Of course, it took a challenge to make it happen, but she believed things happened for a reason. Maybe it was providence she’d heard the radio show that day. “Really? Nothing at all?”
“Nope,” he replied flatly.
“You’re lucky, then,” she said and sighed. “The day I heard that challenge, I realized I would do everything different.”
His head cocked, eyes brightened. “Is that why you moved to Vegas?”
“Exactly.” She ran her fingers over the stem of her wineglass. “This city is so alive. I always thought it’d be fun to live here.”
He stared at her fingers working over the glass before his gaze lifted. “You fulfilled a dream, then?”
“Absolutely.” Squaring her shoulders, she leaned against the back of her chair. “For the past months, I’ve been trying new things and doing things that the old me wouldn’t have dared to do. Which includes ordering strange things off the menu.”
His gaze held hers, an unknown emotion crossing his face. “Why? Is there something wrong with the old you?”
“Not necessarily wrong, but I lived in that comfortable, safe zone, where I never pushed myself.” She shrugged, trying to find the right words to explain it. “I didn’t want to be a different person; I like me. There was just something in that message that affected me. I realized I needed to start living for me. Doing things on my terms that make me happy.”
“Who were you living for before?”
His narrowed eyes made her shift against her seat. This conversation was getting far too serious. She sipped her wine before answering him, “I guess I lived for everyone else. You know, staying in my job because I didn’t want to leave my boss. Living in Savannah because my family is buried there. That kinda stuff.” She paused, as laughter drifted across the room from another couple at a table. “Now things are different and much more exciting.”
Kyler didn’t seem to notice the laughter; his gaze remained fixed on her. “That’s what you’re looking for, excitement?”
She chuckled softly. “Isn’t everyone?”
His gaze became focused as he leaned his elbows against the table. “Let me get this straight. You dare yourself to do crazy things you never would have done before?”
“That’s right.”
“Is that why you were so willing to join me at the wedding and acted so bold, considering you had never done casual sex before?”
She nodded.
One eyebrow quirked. “So, you are daring yourself to do outrageous things because you’re looking for new adventures and craving to learn more about yourself?”
“Exactly.”
A slow, dangerous smile crossed his face. “Well, now, that is an interesting challenge.”
Before she had a chance to dig into the reason behind that smile, or understand his keen interest in her personal dare, a glass shattered to the ground next to their table. Ella’s heart leapt into her throat as the noise struck her right in the soul, like a knife cutting into her belly.
A sound that had been imprinted in her mind, one she’d never forget. A wave of fear raced through her, sending ice spilling into her veins. She pinched her eyes shut and froze in her chair, as she ab
sentmindedly tumbled into a memory.
“Rory, this isn’t you. Don’t,” she managed to shout before firm hands shoved her forward.
The world spun around her before she went tumbling. A crashing sound came first. The shards of glass breaking as her face crashed into the table became the only noise in the air. When the rest of her body hit the table, her scream echoed in her ears as her forehead ached from the blow.
She blinked, groaning in agony from the fierce throb by her eye. A second later, she lay on the floor with warm liquid rushing down her face. She glanced to her hands covered in red from the tiny shards of glass broken beneath her. Raising her hand to her face, she cringed at the deep gash near her eye. Then she realized the warm liquid on her face was blood pooling from the wound.
So much blood…
* * *
Tension rippled through Kyler in alarm. His Dom and cop instincts set off warning bells. He stared at Ella, alert to her every move. As the waiter cleaned up the broken glass from the floor, Ella finally opened her eyes. She looked to him for only a second before her gaze cast down.
His jaw tightened, watching her harsh breathing. She grasped the table, knuckles white, mouth drawn in a straight line. Terror. Kyler managed to rein in the concern flickering through him, and he placed his arms on the table, reaching for her.
When she flinched away from him, a frown pulled the corners of his mouth. “Are you all right?”
Her gaze lifted to his, wide-eyed fear ragging in its depths. Keeping his hand close to hers, he hesitated. His stomach roiled under a reaction he’d seen before, too many damn times. The first hint of the reason behind the pain he’d seen in Ella was showing itself, and he wondered if Aidan had seen it, too. “Has someone hurt you, Ella?”
Her face became ashen. “P-p-pardon?”
Drawn in to protect her, he inhaled a slow breath to control his voice. “You behave like a woman who’s been abused. You can trust me. Is someone hurting you?”
“No, you’re wrong.” Her breathing returned to normal and clarity removed the tension around her eyes. “No one is hurting me.”
The Club Sin Series 4-Book Bundle Page 51
