21. Chapter 21
Chapter 21
I chuckled into my Jack and Coke before emptying my glass in a long swallow. I’d just watched Monty haul Kassie Ramirez upstairs to the second floor of Club E, the sex club we’d come to tonight.
My suspicions about who he was interested in were obviously correct.
“Another one?” the male bartender asked.
“Nah, I’m driving tonight. I think I’ll look around a bit,” I told him before paying out my tab. “Can I ask you a question?”
“Of course. Shoot.”
“My friend and I just took the tour with Everly, and she said there was a, uh, a role playing shop on the first floor. But I don’t see it.”
“Oh, sure,” he said nonchalantly, slinging a white towel over one shoulder, and I was grateful for his non-judgment. After all, I was sure he’d seen and heard worse here. “It’s kinda confusing because you have to go out the front door to get to it. They have it open to the public, unlike the rest of the club, which is members only. People buy Halloween costumes there and everything.”
“Cool, thanks,” I said, rapping twice on the bar before heading to the front. I found the shop near the discreet entrance to Club E, and when I walked inside, my mouth dropped open. The place was as big as a Walmart.
“Mr. Estrada, hi!” I heard a friendly voice say, and turned to find Everly, the petite blonde who had given us a tour. “Are you into role play?”
“Oh, um…” I pulled at the back of my neck, and Everly patted my arm with a comforting touch.
“It’s okay. You don’t have to be embarrassed. My husband and I are into it too.”
That settled my nerves a bit. “Sorry, I’ve gotten judged for my preferences before, so it’s hard to talk about.”
She let out a frustrated noise from the back of her throat and rolled her eyes. “Trust me, I understand. I mean, people accept BDSM and other kinks. So why is it okay for someone to be into impact or breath play, but if I want to dress up like Little Red Riding Hood and let my Big, Bad Wolf devour me, I get the side eye?”
“Exactly,” I said, feeling more relaxed by the second.
“Do you have a partner or are you free-ranging it?”
I laughed. “It’s complicated. I have a woman I like, but…”
“But you’re not sure if she’d be into it, right?” I nodded, and Everly smiled. “I get it. I was so scared to talk to my husband—well, he was my boyfriend then. I was afraid he’d think it was silly or something. Come on. I think I have some resources to help you.”
Following her through racks and racks of every costume imaginable, I listened as she pointed to the various sections. “Over there we have anime and cosplay. Then there’s your fairytale stuff over on the other wall. In the center, we have occupation-related costumes, such as cops, nurses, your classic French maid, schoolgirls, and military. That’s the most popular area for people who are just looking for a Halloween costume or something.”
“Wow, you have a little of everything.”
“Yep,” she agreed, leading me toward the back as she continued pointing around the room. “Over there is historical stuff like Renaissance, Vikings, and pioneer costumes. Animals are near the fairytales. And here,” she said as we walked around a corner and found an inconspicuous black door, “is the bookstore.”
She opened the door, and I walked inside. It was a small room with only four sets of bookshelves, but they were jam-packed with books.
Everly thumbed over her shoulder. “I’ve got to stay up front, but you’re welcome to browse. That green book on the first set of shelves is the one that really helped me a lot. Take your time and let me know if you have any questions.”
“Thanks,” I said. “You’ve been a huge help.” When she was gone, I pulled the green book from the shelf and read the title. Effective Ways to Talk to Your Partner about Role Playing.
Tucking that one beneath my arm, I checked out the rest of the library. There were books on ideas for scenes, communication, and even a few that gave instructions for do-it-yourself costumes.
My phone rang, and I pulled it from my pocket to see that Auburn was calling, which was weird. He was supposed to be on his way home from upstate after speaking to students at a business college.
“Hey, everything okay?” I answered.
“Yeah, I’m on my way home. Shouldn’t be more than an hour. Where are you right now?”
I came to a sex club with our brother, but he’s upstairs in a BDSM room with his old flame.
“At a bookstore.”
“Listen, I know you’re not on duty, but the girls are at a club and saying they plan to walk home.”
“Which girls?” I asked, my ears perking up like a dog smelling a steak.
“Gia, Lehra, and… what’s the one with glasses?”
“Nicolette.”
“Yeah, her.”
“I’ll go get them. Which club?”
“The Blue in Midtown. Are you sure about this? They looked a little tipsy, and I just worry.”
“I don’t mind a bit. I’m not far from there.”
“Thanks, man. I owe you one.”
“Sounds good, and don’t worry about the ladies. I’ll get them safely home.”
“I knew I could count on you, especially if I told you Lehra was there,” he teased, seeming to know without me telling him that I had a thing for her.
“Yeah, yeah, shut up,” I mumbled, hanging up the phone to the sound of his laughter.
“I’m Mrs. Bouvier’s driver,” I told the guy at the door, and he nodded his boulder-sized head and pulled back the red rope for me to go through.
I’d passed by this club a few times, but I’d never been inside. It was nice. The air bumped with bass, and the blue furnishings were tasteful and sleek.
Spotting Lehra instantly, I headed toward her position at the bar, where she was seated with a man beside her. Jealousy flared through me, and it quickly turned into anger when I drew close enough to hear Lehra say, “For the hundredth time, no. I do not want you to buy me a drink.”
A furious red haze clouded the corners of my vision when he reached out and grabbed her upper arm, and I placed a hand on the asshole’s shoulder with an unyielding grip. “The lady said no,” I said in a voice just loud enough for him to hear.
“Who the fuck are you?” he sneered, rotating his barstool to face me, his eyes glazed with drunkenness.
“Your worst fucking nightmare,” I growled, letting him see the feral glint in my eye.
He paused and seemed to think about that before shrugging. “Yeah, well, I dint want to talk to her anyway,” he slurred. “She looks like a bi—”
He stopped talking when I cut off his airway with a firm hand around his throat. “Do you really want to finish that sentence?”
The asshole’s eyes bugged out and his face turned puce as he shook his head, and I had to remind myself he was drunk. Not that that was an excuse to harass a woman— my woman —but it did keep me from doing what I wanted to do, which was throw him over the bar and into the rows of bottles. Instead, I spun him to face a wide-eyed Lehra and loosened my hand just enough for him to speak.
“Apologize to the lady.”
“I-I’m s-sorry,” he stuttered out and then, with a flick of my wrist, I tossed him behind me and onto the floor.
Making eye contact with the bartender that rushed over, I jerked my head in the asshole’s direction. “Get a bouncer to take out that piece of shit.” He didn’t even question me, simply nodded and tapped out a message on the phone he pulled from his pocket.
Then I stepped closer to Lehra and ran my fingers gently over the arm he’d grabbed. If I saw even the hint of a mark, I’d rethink my decision, and the man wouldn’t be able to walk for a very long time. But he got lucky. The only thing I found were the goosebumps that followed my touch.
“You okay, Tink?” I asked, meeting her astonished gaze.
“Um, yeah, fine. He was just being a jerk.”
“He put his hands on you,” I growled, and she reached up and touched my face. Her fingers were soft and cool against my heated skin, and I calmed in an instant.
“Thank you, Cruz. That was really sweet… and totally hot.” Then she deepened her voice in an approximation of mine and growled, “I’m your worst fucking nightmare.”
She was so damn cute, and I laughed, taking both her hands to help her off the stool. “Where are your friends?”
“They were going to the bathroom upstairs. I came down to wait for you.”
Scanning the crowd, I saw them winding their way toward us through the crowd. “I see them. You ladies are dressed to kill tonight, aren’t you?” I asked the three of them once Nicolette and Gianna reached us. Nic was wearing a black dress with glittery threads running through it, and Gia was in a white minidress made of some kind of shiny material.
But Lehra… goddamn . She wore a silver sequin dress that pulled out the sparkles in her gray eyes.
“Thanks,” Gianna said, bumping me with her shoulder. “And sorry my husband pulled you away from whatever you were doing tonight.”
“No problem at all. I wasn’t busy.” I gestured toward the front just as two burly men picked up the asshole who had touched Lehra and dragged him away.
“What happened to that guy?” Nicolette asked, glancing back over her shoulder.
I smirked as I walked. “He made bad life choices.”
Once I’d gotten Nicolette safely home, I pulled into the underground parking garage and stepped out of the car.
“Alex,” I spoke to one of the security guards, “can you escort Mrs. Bouvier up to the penthouse?”
“Certainly,” he said, and helped Gianna out of the car before leading her to the elevator.
“Lehra, you ready?” I asked peering into the car, but she was curled up on the backseat, fast asleep. Smiling, I extricated her and cradled her in my arms, hanging her purse over my shoulder. “I’ll be back to move the car in a bit,” I whispered to the other guard.
“Nah, I’ll park it for you, and you can grab the keys in the morning.”
I nodded my thanks and carried Lehra up to her apartment. We both had emergency key cards to the other’s apartments, so I wrangled mine out of my pocket and unlocked her door.
“Cruz?” she asked sweetly as I hung her purse beside the door and carried her through her darkened apartment and to her bedroom.
“Yeah, Tink?” I asked, setting her on the bed and turning on the bedside lamp.
“Why don’t you ever ask me to get in hot tubs with you anymore? I think you’re a really good hot tub buddy.”
I suppressed a groan at the memories that brought back and smoothed her hair away from her face. “I think you are too, sweetheart.”
She grinned crookedly. “Okay, can you get my sleep shirt from the top drawer of my dresser? It’s the blue one.”
Crossing the room, I pulled open the drawer and froze when I saw the blue shirt. It was one of mine that I’d loaned her when she spilled something on her tank top one night.
“This one?” I croaked, holding it up.
“Uh-huh. I like to sleep in your shirt.”
I wasn’t sure how I was still standing because every drop of blood in my body migrated directly to my cock. She sleeps in my shirt? Somehow I managed to walk to her and place it in her outstretched hand.
“There you go. I’ll step out and let you change. Do you…” Oh Jesus help me. I swallowed hard. “Do I need to unzip your dress?”
I was flooded with both relief and disappointment when she shook her head. “No, it just pulls off over my head.”
Outside her bedroom door, I blew out a few long breaths through pursed lips, giving her a minute before I returned. Lehra was indeed wearing my shirt, lying on her side with a long, tanned leg sticking out from the covers.
“I’ll put some water and ibuprofen on your nightstand. Take them as soon as you wake up.”
“Okay, Sir,” she said, giving me a little salute.
Fuck, did she just call me Sir?
“Anything else you need?”
She smiled up at me through drowsy eyes. “Where’s my phone? I need to plug it in and set my alarm.”
“I’ll get it out of your purse.” Backtracking through the apartment, I found her phone in her purse and brought it to the bedroom. “What time do you want your alarm set for?”
Lehra yawned and closed her eyes, curling down deep in the bed. “I’ll sleep in, so nine.”
I unlocked her phone and sat beside her. As I was about to swipe to the clock app, the words on the screen caught my eye.
According to your results, your ideal kink is role playing. It’s fun and adventurous, just like you! So get out there and find a partner who matches your daring sexual personality. And remember, there is no shame in enjoying what you like.
My eyeballs felt like beach balls trying to pop from my eye sockets. I looked from the phone to the woman on the bed, the beautiful, fun woman I loved. My cheeks began to ache, and I realized it was because I was grinning like a loon.
I read the words again—just to be sure—and then stroked Lehra's messy hair until she was deeply asleep. Then I swept my thumb across the screen to set her alarm. But not before I memorized the words at the bottom.
One last question for you… what is your ultimate role playing fantasy?
Response: Viking Warrior