Marcus didn’t believe in soul mates. If two people met and fell for each other at first glance, it was because both of them were at a point in their lives where they were ready and willing for that to happen. That kind of haphazard affection was a product of circumstance, notdestiny.
But as Marcus locked eyes with the young man across the room, he found his beliefsshaken.
It wasn’t that there was an instant connection, or that his life drastically changed from a single glance, but there was something deep inside of him that clicked, like an old lock whose key had been lost for a lifetime had finally been unbarred. Marcus slid his hands into his back pockets, unable to keep still. Restlessness tore through him, a feeling he couldn’t keep suppressed for long. He felt it part his lips and widen his eyes, even if the change was so slight, it was almostunnoticeable.
Across the room, he witnessed the young man’s expression falterinkind.
“Marcus?” Clarissa demanded. “Hello?”
“Hmm?” Marcus blinked and tore his attention from the man across theroom. “Yes?”
“You’re not even listening to me, are you?” Clarissa asked. She shook her head. “It’s not my goal to get anyone expelled from The Shepherd, but rules are rules, and they were put in place for areason.”
“I’ll keep my hands to myself,” Marcus promised. And hewould.
But his eyes? His lips? His tongue?Hiscock?
He could make nopromises.
5
Lucian
The glassin Clarissa’s hand met the counter a little too hard. The whiskey stones inside clinked against one another, and the bourbon rose up and almost spilled overtherim.
Lucian ducked back under the bar to see what the matter was. It wasn’t like Clarissa to lose her balance like that—she worked the bar like it was an extension of her body. But when Lucian arrived at her side, it didn’t look like Clarissa had slipped at all. Her eyes were locked on the bourbon she’d poured as though she could set it on fire if she only stared hard enough. “Clarissa?”
“Did you see the man I was standing with?” Clarissa asked. “The tall alpha with the broad shoulders and the dark hair? The one who just headed toboothfive?”
“Yeah.” It was kind of hardnotto see him. The Shepherd was filled with beautiful people, but that man was a category of handsome all on his own. “Whatabouthim?”
“He’s ordered this drink,”Clarissasaid.
“Um. Alright. Can do.” Lucian slid the drink away from Clarissa. “One Knob Creek, neat,comingup.”
It was Lucian’s third day on the job, but he had already learned a few valuable lessons about The Shepherd and the people in it. A Google search had braced him for what was coming, but nothing could have prepared him for what really went on behind openeddoors.
And doorswerekeptopen.
Allnightlong.
Bare torsos. Writhing bodies. Breathless moans and divine cries. The Shepherd was a members-only kink club, and the rooms Lucian had seen beyond the bar were playrooms. Every night, patrons came and went in various states of undress. Nudity was forbidden on the ground floor, but on the second floor, it waswelcome.
Lucian had served someveryinteresting individuals since starting his new job, but none of them had piqued his interest quite as much as the alpha inboothfive.
In a way, The Shepherd reminded Lucian of The White Lotus—there was no privacy, and there was no shame. But those who spent their evenings in a brothel and those who visited The Shepherd were of different ilk. The men and women who came to the club night after night to chase the same orgasmic highs were respectful and polite. Lucian had been admired, but he’d quickly learned that no one was going to force him to do anything he didn’t want to—and even if he did want to, following a patron into one of The Shepherd’s public rooms was forbidden. Lucian was there to work, not tohavefun.
But for a guilty moment, when he’d looked across the room and seen the man at Clarissa’s side, Lucian’s grasp on what was appropriate hadslipped.
“Lucian?” Clarissa didn’t look up from the backcounter.
“Yes?” Lucian stood a little taller. He didn’t know if Clarissa had seen him staring or not, but he hoped she hadn’t. There would be other jobs if he lost this one, but Lucian didn’t want to be let go. It wasn’t only because this was his first shot at garnering real-world experience—for the first time in his adult life, Lucian was untouchable. No man would touch him unless he granted them permission to do so. No mancouldtouch him. Behind the bar at The Shepherd, he could take back what had been stolenfromhim.
If Counselor Ellis hadn’t been such a prude, Lucian was sure he would have beenproud.
“Remember that you don’t have to do anything he says. He isn’t here for you.” Clarissa looked up from the counter to meet his eye. “You’re the one incontrol.”
“Thanks…” Lucian lifted the glass, trying not to come across as uncertain as he felt. “I’m going to go serve this and then I’ll be rightback,okay?”
