Ruin Me, Daddy (Big Daddy Energy #1)

Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

SILVER

S outh Fucking Carolina.

If she’d made a list of places where she would have expected to find one of the most badass rock gods the world had ever known, South Carolina would have been toward the bottom of that list. Especially somewhere like Charleston, with its rainbow-colored homes and adorable little shopping districts. It wasn’t that she had anything against South Carolina, specifically, it was just so… cute.

But there he was, lounging in a booth in one of the south’s premier kink clubs, an easy smile on his face as if he didn’t have a care in the world.

As if he hadn’t given her the most spectacular night of her life, dropped an emotional nuke on their friendship by telling her he’d been in love with her since fucking high school , and then fallen off the face of the Earth for several months.

Bastard. Dickwad. Jerkface.

That was what she’d taken to calling him in her mind ever since she’d gotten word that he’d taken off on a ‘sabbatical’ and would be unreachable for the foreseeable future. But the rest of the world knew him as Elias ‘Ice’ Turner, lead guitarist for Deviant Whispers, the band he’d founded back in high school with his best friend, Adrian ‘Ace’ Alvarez.

Rounding out the band was Crash, who they’d brought on to replace their original bassist right before they’d signed their first major deal. And last but not least, her. Their drummer extraordinaire, Amanda Sterling. Or Silver, as she preferred to be called by most people. That pipe dream of a band had grown and changed over the years to become one of the greatest rock groups of all time.

If she did say so herself.

His hair was longer now, and had reverted to its natural dirty blonde instead of the salon-perfect icy white she’d gotten so used to seeing over the years. That, combined with the beard he’d grown out made him almost unrecognizable, even to her. Which was probably intentional on his part. Unlike Ace, their lead singer and Silver’s asshole of an ex-boyfriend, Ice preferred to fly under the radar when they weren’t touring.

Still, it was a bit of a shock to see how much he’d changed since she’d last seen him. It wasn’t just the physical changes, like the beard and the scraggly hair and the new tattoos she could see peeking out from under his unbuttoned flannel—the flannel itself was new, too—but there was an edge to him she didn’t recognize. He’d always been a bit cold and aloof, hence his nickname, but something was… different.

Wrong.

Even from a distance, she could see it. Feel it. And she was woman enough to admit that wrongness was making her more than a little hesitant to approach him.

But she was on a mission. The rest of the band was relying on her to get Ice back to California, pronto, so she was going to get herself up out of this booth, march her ass over to him, and tell him what was going on.

As soon as she finished her whiskey.

“Can I get you anything else, sugar?”

Tearing her eyes away from Ice, Silver forced herself to smile for the pretty waitress. Lottie, as her name tag said, barely looked old enough to drink the whiskey she’d served Silver half an hour ago with a bright smile and a thick Southern drawl that whispered of old money despite the fact she was working as a waitress in a sex club.

Not that Club BDE wasn’t a gorgeously upscale sex club. Half of the top floor, which Silver had confined herself to for the time being, served as a small restaurant complete with fully stocked bar. Plush booths lined the restaurant half of the floor, and a look over the railing revealed an array of kinky fuckery taking place on the bottom floor in what she’d heard referred to as ‘the pit’.

St. Andrew’s crosses, spanking benches, and even a set of stocks were strategically placed around the pit so that no matter where you were seated you could observe what was happening downstairs. Vivian, the adorable receptionist with the mermaid-colored hair, had also explained that there were themed rooms along the other half of the top floor that could be reserved for any length of time if a couple had a particular fantasy they were looking to live out.

All in all, it wasn’t the worst place to be stuck drinking really fantastic whiskey while stalking her best friend. She’d still rather be back in California, tucked away in her cozy mansion, sulking about the fact that the two men who claimed to love her were currently her greatest sources of heartache. But this was a decent alternative, all things considered.

Lifting her half-empty tumbler, Silver smiled. “I think I’m good, thanks.”

“You sure?” Mischief twinkled in the pale gray of Lottie’s eyes as she twirled a lock of dark hair around her finger. “The stuffed mushrooms are delicious. Or I could send a drink over to the hot viking you’ve been staring down all evening.”

Silver jerked her gaze back up to Lottie from where it had drifted back toward Ice’s table during their conversation. “I have not been staring him down.”

“Uh-huh. Well, if you want to send him something to let him know that you have very definitely not been watching him all evening, I’d be happy to assist.”

Heat crept into Silver’s cheeks. “Have I really been that obvious?”

“Nah.” Lottie grinned. “Nobody else can really see you, I just noticed because I’ve been watching you.”

Ah, fuck. She should have known it wouldn’t take long for someone to recognize her. “Oh?” Silver kept her tone casual, despite the unease creeping up her spine.

It wasn’t that she minded being spotted ‘in the wild’ as some would say. This just wasn’t the best timing for a fan meet-and-greet.

“Not like, in a creepy way,” Lottie rushed to assure her. “It’s just that it’s not every day we get a woman coming in here all by herself. Even the Dommes usually buddy up if they don’t have a partner already. So I find you a bit fascinating, if you don’t mind me saying so.”

Not a fan then, which was both a relief and a disappointment. “Well, I’ve heard such good things about this club, I figured it was safe enough to come in alone.”

That much was true, at least. Everything she’d heard about Club BDE had been absolutely glowing, other than the whispers of an underground sex auction that had been illegally run out of the club up until a couple months ago. But that had apparently been done without the knowledge or consent of the club owners, and the Elliott brothers had shut the whole mess down rather quickly.

Other than that minor hiccup, the club had a spotless reputation, so Silver hadn’t even thought twice about showing up without an escort. She’d also spent the last few years occasionally playing with strangers at her club back in California, and she’d learned a thing or two during that time about dealing with unwanted advances from overeager Doms.

“Of course you’re safe here.” A hint of insult colored Lottie’s voice, as though she couldn’t believe anyone would ever imply otherwise. “My Daddy would be absolutely beside himself if he thought a woman didn’t feel safe in his club.”

Daddy. That was the other thing she’d heard about BDE. Nearly all of the Doms in this club identified as Daddies of one type or another.

Was Ice a Daddy now? The thought had her stomach twisting in a not-altogether- unpleasant way. Though she’d never heard him refer to himself that way, it was oddly fitting. He’d always been looking out for her, taking care of her, even when she’d been with Ace. Forcing her to eat before shows, shoving water at her between sets, making sure she got at least some sleep while they were on the road.

She hadn’t realized how much she’d come to rely on him constantly checking up on her until he’d disappeared. And it was a bit of a kick in the ass to realize the man taking care of her like a proper Dom should wasn’t the man she’d been in an on-again, off-again relationship with her entire adult life, but rather the man she considered her best friend.

That probably should have been her first clue that her relationship with Ice was more complicated than she’d realized.

“Your Daddy?” Silver asked, her brain belatedly catching up with what Lottie had just said. “Braden Elliott is your Daddy?”

Everything about Lottie seemed to light up from the inside. “He is. He’s probably wandering around somewhere if you’d like to meet him.” Lottie glanced from side to side before leaning in and dropping her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “He and The Viking are good friends, if you want me to get you an introduction.”

Jesus, how long had Ice been here? According to the Horsemen, he’d spent a week at Club Apocalypse right after he’d left California. Had he gone straight from Arizona to South Carolina? How had he even heard of this place? She hadn’t known Club BDE existed until a few days ago, after she’d spent a solid two weeks on the phone calling around to every kink club in the country trying to find her wayward bandmate.

The answer to at least some of her questions seemed to be standing right in front of her. “Really?” Silver let her eyes go wide. “So he comes here often? The Viking, I mean.”

That mischievous twinkle sparked in Lottie’s eyes again. “Every night since I started working here, and I’m pretty sure he was a regular before that.”

Before Silver could push for more information, a man stepped up to the table, the sharp lines of his face softened only somewhat by the warm smile curving his lips. She recognized Braden Elliott from his picture on the password-locked website for the club, but if she’d had any doubt who he was, it was put to rest when he slipped an arm around Lottie’s waist and pressed a kiss to her cheek before returning his attention to Silver. “Miss Sterling. I hope you’re enjoying your first visit with us.”

“I am.” A lump formed in her throat when Lottie dropped her head onto his shoulder in a gesture of such easy affection it made Silver ache to watch. “You have a lovely club, Mr. Elliott.”

“Call me Braden, please. And thank you. Vivian told me you turned down a tour. Is there anything specific you’re interested in that I could assist you with?”

“She’s interested in your friend,” Lottie whispered loudly. “The hot Viking sitting with Mr. Stone.”

The disapproving look Braden sent Lottie’s way nearly had Silver shrinking down in her seat. She’d been on the receiving end of that look before and it never boded well for the recipient.

“Charlotte, you know better than to gossip about our patrons.”

Lottie’s bottom lip puffed out in a pout. “It’s not gossip! It’s… intel.”

“Whatever you want to call it, you know better. Don’t you have other tables that need your attention, little girl?”

“Yes, but none that are as interesting as this one.”

Despite his attempts to look stern, Braden’s lips twitched with clear amusement. “Go, unless you’d rather spend your shift with your skirt up around your waist so everyone can see how pretty your bottom looks in pink.”

With a quick glare for her Daddy, Lottie hurried off to the next table. Braden took the opportunity to slide onto the bench across from Silver, his expression shifting from playful to serious in a way that had butterflies dancing in her stomach. “You’re here for Ice.”

It was a statement rather than a question, so she saw no reason to deny it. “Yes, Sir.”

“Since you’re hiding out in a dark corner instead of sitting with him, it seems safe to assume he doesn’t know you’re here.”

“Yes, Sir. And I would like to keep it that way for at least a little bit longer, if it’s all the same to you.”

His eyes narrowed slightly, and she had to fight the urge to squirm in her seat. Being on stage in front of thousands of fans was nothing compared to how exposed she felt with Braden Elliott staring her down.

After what felt like a short eternity, he gave a single, brisk nod. “For now. But I should warn you, Miss Sterling. Ice is not only one of my best patrons, but someone I consider a friend. If you’re here to cause trouble for him, I have no problem throwing you out on your ass. Am I understood?”

“I’m not looking to make trouble for anyone, Sir. I just need to talk to him.”

One dark eyebrow raised, sending the butterflies in her stomach dancing all over again. “You came all the way from California just to talk?”

“How did you know?—”

“Please don’t insult my intelligence, Miss Sterling. Everyone who walks through my doors undergoes an extensive background check.”

Of course. She knew that, since she’d signed the paperwork giving him permission to do exactly that when she’d applied for a temporary membership last week. “Right. I forgot.”

Again his lips twitched as he tried and failed to hide his own amusement at the situation. “Also, my daughter happens to be a huge Deviant Whispers fan. Her room has your posters all over it.”

“Yeah?” The butterflies calmed enough for Silver to smile. “I’ll have to leave her an autograph or something before I head back home.”

“She’d love that. Now, are you going to go talk to Ice, or should I pretend I haven’t seen you?”

“If you could pretend for just a bit longer, I would appreciate it very much. I’m not quite ready to talk to him, yet.”

“Consider it done.” Sliding out of the booth, Braden flashed a smile of his own, turning his face from handsome older man to devastating heartbreaker in the blink of an eye. “Welcome to club BDE, Miss Sterling.”