“Sounds like Kenz,” Aidan said with a chuckle.“Now thatwould be funny.It’s not.I’m talking about Kenzie Taggart.She’s somewhereclassified.I’m sure she was pissed to miss the party.Chaos is Kenzie’s ideaof a good time.Also Kenz has pink hair, though she does have a lot of wigs.Ialways wonder how she gets all her hair under there.You okay, baby?”
Carys had a hand to her mouth.She’d gone a bright pink.“Yep.Yes.Went down the wrong pipe.I need some water.”
Carys stood and strode back to the kitchen.
All of Nate’s instincts kicked in.She hadn’t taken a drinkor eaten anything, so there was nothing to get stuck in any of her pipes, andwas that the way a doctor should refer to pieces of human anatomy she’d beenregularly tested on?
Carys knew something, and she didn’t want to tell him.
“I’m intrigued,” Aidan was saying.“I can’t think of asingle sub I would say is super hot.Now I did grow up with most of them, andI’m the weirdo who hasn’t taken his eyes off one woman for years, but I canappreciate other women on a purely aesthetic level.”He snapped his fingers asthough remembering something.“Daphne O’Malley.She’s got dark hair.Greeneyes.Pretty girl.She might have come in with Chloe.Hey, Car, do you think itcould be Daphne?”
A bright smile was on Carys’s face as she returned.“Thatwould fit.Yes, it could definitely be Daphne.She doesn’t come into townoften, but when she does, she usually spends a night at one of the clubs.I’malmost sure I saw her in the locker room last night.”
And he was almost sure she was lying.Nate stared at Carys.
The redhead sat down but seemed to feel his gaze on her.
“Nate and Daphne O’Malley.”Aidan didn’t seem to feel thetension in the room.“I like it.She’s actually a good match for you, man.LikeI said, you got lucky.Her parents own this organic cattle ranch a couple ofhours south of here.You have ranching in common.Now, I will tell you she’sthe product of one of those crazy threesomes.You might think about that.”
Nate never blinked, simply stared at Carys, who tried tolook pretty much anywhere but at him.
“I’m joking,” Aidan continued.“Not about the threesomepart.Her mom is married to two men.Only one of them is a cattle rancher.Lucas is a lawyer.So when you think about it, it resembles your mom and dad.You’ve got hard physical labor mixed with super smarts.I mean, if you shoved asuccessful romance writer in there.”Aidan stopped, seeming to understand hewas missing something.“Uh, dude you look a little crazy right now.”
“What do you know, Carys?”He asked the question in the sametone he would use if he was interrogating someone during an investigation.
Aidan sat up straight.“Hey, let’s back down.She doesn’tknow anything.”
Carys’s jaw tightened.
“Yeah, she does.She knows exactly who I’m talking about.She knew the minute I described what she was wearing.”Nate felt it in hisbones.“She saw Dee in the locker room, I would bet.You know who I spent lastnight with.You saw her.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”Carys wasn’t agood liar.She had many tells, including the fact she couldn’t quite meet hiseyes.“Besides, what happens in the locker room stays in the locker room.”
Aidan was now staring his fiancée’s way.“Since when?I wasjoking about the whole masquerade thing.You know we’ll be talking about lastnight until the next time.The club runs on gossip.Gabe texted me in themiddle of a session to ask me if getting beer in his eyes could make Sethblind, and he was not texting for my medical advice.”
“Who was she?”Nate didn’t care about what had happened lastnight in any room other than the one where he’d made love to the most gorgeoussubmissive he’d ever seen.
“There’s a reason we wear masks.”Carys’s pretty face wentstubborn.“She has a right to privacy.If she’d wanted you to know who she was,she would have hung around.”
“Or she’s a scared little sub since something’s happening toher at the club,” he replied.He’d thought a lot about this.
“What do you mean?”Aidan asked, all of his focus on Nateagain.
“I watched her when she walked out.I didn’t like the waysome of the Doms treated her.”He’d been up early this morning, the problemgrinding through his brain.He’d arrived at some conclusions.None of them madehim feel better.She’d been happy when they were playing.It had been theminute they were done with the initial sex that she’d gotten anxious.Likeshe’d needed it so badly, needed the affection and pleasure he’d lavished onher, but when it was done the real world had rushed back in.
“How they treated her?”Aidan looked concerned all of thesudden.“I’m going to need some names.If we’ve got assholes mistreating thesubs, I will handle it.I’m having a hard time believing one of our tops wouldabuse a sub.They’re all well trained, and we have some very specific rulesabout how to behave in the club.”
“She told me she’s looking for a new club because shedoesn’t feel welcome at this one,” Nate pointed out.
He’d come to the conclusion she might have been shamed forher sexuality.It was an awful thing to think about since the club was exactlythe place where she should feel free to explore.He would bet it was aboutjealousy.She’d likely had some kind of relationship with one or more of theDoms, and they didn’t like the fact she didn’t want them now.He’d seen itbefore, and he didn’t intend to let it happen to Dee.
He didn’t give a bloody hell how many blokes she’d beenwith.As long as he was the last.
Aidan pulled his cell out of his pocket.“I don’t wantanyone to feel run out of The Hideout.That’s not happening on my watch.I’llcall Gabe.We’re in charge while Cooper, Tash, and the twins are out of pocket.And Dare.I can call him in.We’ll get to the bottom of this.”
“I think Gabe is one of the problems.”He hated causingtrouble when it wasn’t necessary.Drama tended to be a thing he avoided, butthis was wrong.He’d seen how hurt Dee had been.“He was one of two tops I sawmake her uncomfortable.”
Aidan stopped as though the thought didn’t quite make sense.“You’re telling me you saw Gabriel Lodge abuse a sub?”
