Chapter 10
“And this,” Julia announced with a Vanna White flourish, “is Devil’s Labyrinth—or the entrance to it, at least.”
“Isn’t there a horror movie by that name? The one with David Bowie?” Emily asked, eyeing the vine-draped arbor. Moonlight painted eerie shadows across the path that led to a dark, yawning archway. If they’d been going for creepy, they’d nailed it.
“I think you mean, Pan’s Labyrinth,” Julia confirmed. “Everyone kept calling it the maze, which, given the tropical-garden vibes, felt tragically uninspired. A few subs decided it needed a proper, mysterious name. This is what stuck.”
“And the doms were fine with that?”
“We didn’t ask,” she said breezily. “We’ve found if we use a name long enough, the doms eventually come around. Some start to believe it was their idea.”
“It’s been a while, but isn’t the movie about a girl escaping a sadistic stepfather through an imaginary world?”
“Ours is the grown-up version—minus the gore, trauma, and child-endangering stepdad.”
“Is it minus the sadism?” Emily quipped, only half joking.
“There’s some,” Julia admitted. “It’s a BDSM club, after all.
You’ll hear screams, but only the good kind.
” She lowered her voice conspiratorially.
“If you ever hear someone yell, ‘red,’ get out of the way. Dungeon monitors descend like firefighters.” She raised a hand as if taking an oath.
“No exaggeration. Using the club safeword is the same as pulling an alarm.”
The idea that anyone might need rescuing—good screams or not—had Emily retreating several steps. “Nope. Not going in there.”
“It’s just a name.”
Emily peered into the shadows and shivered.
They could call it Cinderella’s Sparkling Grotto for all she cared.
This was a hard no for her. It reminded her too much of a haunted corn maze she’d stumbled through at fifteen, complete with chainsaws and masked idiots jumping out of the dark.
It had freaked her out then, and she wasn’t about to relive it at twenty-six.
“Is there a reason you two are lurking where you shouldn’t be?”
They whirled toward the rumbling voice. A massive silhouette stepped into a shaft of moonlight.
Emily had to crane her neck to see his face and instantly wished she hadn’t.
Everything about him was imposing—the scowl, the shaved head, tattooed biceps, and the carved-from-stone forearms under a sleeveless black muscle shirt.
“Master Leland!” her tour guide breathed, the excitement in her voice unmistakable.
“Julia.” His tone dipped becoming stern.
“You know the rules. No subs wandering the maze without an escort.” Even in the dim moonlight, Emily saw his eyes glide slowly over her friend—from corkscrew curls to bubblegum-pink toes, lingering in between.
His dark gaze shifted to Emily. “Unless this is your mistress…”
“What? No,” Julia replied, just short of giggling. “She’s a sub, and my guest. I was giving her a tour, but I wouldn’t dare take her into the labyrinth. I know better.”
Emily caught the tremor in her voice, definitely not from fear. The dreamy-eyed, flushed look on her face said it all. This was the dom she’d hoped to run into.
“Is it just the two of you? No tops tonight?”
“No, sir,” Julia answered, softening even more.
“Two beautiful submissives with no one to play with?” He clucked his tongue. “Unacceptable.” Leland held out his hand, which Julia took instantly. “You enjoyed our time on the swings, didn’t you, little subbie?”
“Very much, sir.”
“Then you’re with me for the rest of the night.” He slapped a mosquito on his neck. “Inside, though. I’ve had enough bugs and humidity for one shift.”
As he drew her against his side, Julia looked at her, torn. “I shouldn’t leave you alone.”
“Go,” Emily urged. “I’ll be fine.” Dom-blocking her when she’d been so eager for a sequel seemed like a crime against friendship.
Master Leland smiled, and it transformed him. The harsh lines softened, revealing an unexpectedly handsome face and sensual lips.
“That’s easily fixed,” he said, tucking Julia under his brawny arm. “Wait here,” he told Emily. An order if she’d ever heard one. “I’ll send someone to finish showing you around.”
Subject closed to his satisfaction, they disappeared into the shadows.
Alone now, the night noises closed in—frogs croaked, crickets chirped, birds squawked. A rustle in the bushes had her spinning. Nothing there, but the dark mouth of the labyrinth loomed behind her as though it might consume her whole.
She had an abrupt change of heart. She didn’t want to wait in the dark by herself or be paired with a dom she didn’t know—though that was kind of the point of the evening. Going home and letting Julia enjoy her evening seemed the best option.
Except her friend was her ride.
“Darn it,” she uttered. A cab or an Uber from Deerfield Beach to North Miami wasn’t in her budget. So she’d wait, not that she had much choice.
The last time she was here, the patio pulsed with music, laughter, and the hum of conversation. Tonight, it had a jungle vibe, a shout or a wail echoing through the night air every so often.
Emily glimpsed a shadow of movement. Then a bird exploded out of the tunnel—squawking, wings flailing wildly. Shrieking, she ducked as she bolted toward the patio lights, “wait here” orders be damned.
What could he do to her? She was a guest. And she had the lung capacity to scream red loud enough to reach Key Largo if he tried anything.
Suddenly, a shadow crossed her path. She screamed, arms, elbows, even a fist flying as
strong hands clamped around her upper arms.
“Emily? What the hell?”
She froze. That honey-smooth voice could only belong to one man. She gulped in a breath, trying to calm her runaway heart. “Alec?”
“Yes, it’s Alec. What’s come over you?” he asked, bewildered, still holding her steady against him.
She sagged against him, but just as quickly pulled away, mortification crashing over her as she remembered where they stood. “What are you doing here?”
The instant the question left her mouth, heat flamed across her cheeks. It was a private event at an exclusive BDSM club. Obviously, he was here for the same thing she was.
“I could ask you the same thing,” he countered, voice tight. “You told me you had plans with a friend tonight.”
“I do. I mean I did. My friend is a member.”
“Who is he?” he bit out.
“It’s a she, actually. What about you?” She gazed up at him, barely able to make out the downturned curve of his lips. “You said you had to work.”
“Devlin and Associates runs security here. I just got off perimeter patrol.”
“Good. Then you can drive me home. Julia is… uh… occupied.”
“I will. But first, I was heading to the patio to decompress. Like your friend, I’m also a member.”
“Here?” she asked, squeaking. “Wait—you’re a dominant?”
That would certainly explain the spanking.
“For the past ten years.”
“Did Ethan know?” she blurted—then immediately winced. Images she never wanted in her brain surfaced, and she shoved them away. “Actually, don’t answer that? You two were always two peas in a pod.”
She needed space to wrap her head around him “decompressing” at a sex club less than twenty-four hours after making love to her. The betrayal stung as much as it pissed her off.
There was no help for it. She’d just have to fork out the money for an Uber.
No way was she sticking around waiting for Julia while Alec two-timed her in leather and moonlight.
She just needed her phone, which was in her purse, stored in one of the guest rooms in the sprawling ten-thousand-square-foot house. If she could only remember which one.
“Don’t even think about doing what you’re planning.”
She glanced up sharply. “How do you know what I’m thinking?”
“I know when you’re hatching something—you have a tell.”
“A what?”
“A tell,” he repeated. “It’s a little quirk that gives you away. Yours is adorable, by the way.”
Emily rolled her eyes. Adorable was a compliment at seven—not at four years from thirty. Being pocket-sized didn’t help. If she had a dollar for every time someone called her adorable like she needed a chaperone, she’d have enough saved for bail after punching the next person who did.
“Tell me what it is, and I’ll make sure not to do it again.”
“And lose my advantage?” He shook his head, grinning broadly. “Not a chance.”
She didn’t have the energy to figure out why he needed one. “I’m going home.”
“Not until we’ve talked about why you’re here.”
“Let’s just say I had a lapse in judgment and leave it at that. I shouldn’t have come.”
“With Julia as an escort, I’d have to agree.”
“And yesterday was clearly another mistake. It seems I’m on a roll.”
His smile vanished, and his brows slammed together. “Why the hell would you say that?”
“Why?” she shot back. “I would think it was obvious. You’re here playing your wicked games with your sub du jour when only yesterday you were with me.”
“I don’t have a sub du jour, whatever the fuck that even means. I’ve been working until five minutes ago.”
“And now you want to go play,” she accused.
“Yeah, with you,” he bit out, voice rough with meaning.
“When Master Leland sent you over here, you didn’t know it was me.”
“What does Leland have to do with this? You’re not making sense. I wasn’t sent. I was going to grab a beer. The heat and humidity are murder out here.”
Emily crossed her arms, not sure if she believed him.
His hands curled around her shoulders, and he brought her closer. “I wasn’t playing you yesterday, sweetheart. I want you in my life. The club and the lifestyle are part of who I am. But I planned to introduce you to it slowly. Carefully. At your pace.”
“We hadn’t spoken in eight years, Alec. Eight. And the first thing you do is throw me over your knee! What part of that was ‘slow’?”
“That couldn’t wait,” he said simply. “And I’m glad I didn’t—because whether you realize it or not, you gave me the green light to move forward.”