18
Slade
“Have you ever been here before?” I whispered as Doug drove us to The Lodge.
I was a bit unsettled, having my boyfriend’s brother drive me to a kink club, even if I understood that it was easier if we all rode together. And Jack should be proud of me for accepting a ride with them. The alternative would’ve been taking a ride-sharing service, and, in his mind, that would’ve been wasted money. Because of his nagging, I finally had a little bit more of a buffer in the bank. I would probably always worry about waking up some morning and seeing all zeros or a negative balance but, for now, I could breathe again.
Jordan shook his head. “Nope. I’ve asked a few times, but Eli’s always been a bit cagey. No matter what I say, he’s still worried I’ll get freaked out and think I want him to do whatever I see there. Doug glanced into the rearview mirror and Jordan’s cheeks turned pink. It was adorable to see how he blushed so easily now.
“Even now, he worries about that?” I kept my voice low so the men in the front seat hopefully wouldn’t hear us. The last thing I needed was Eli adding in his two cents. He was a great guy but opinionated as hell. “Doesn’t he understand by now that you have no problem telling him if you’re not interested in something?”
“Everyone has their hang-ups,” Jordan replied. “This happens to be one of his. And I’m not going to get into it, but there are other reasons he feels that way. It all makes more sense if you understand how he really is.”
“But those other reasons are some sort of secret?” Jordan and I didn’t do secrets. We shared everything. Well, except a bit there at the beginning of our respective relationships when we didn’t tell one another about the kinkier aspects, but that didn’t count.
“I’m not saying that.” Jordan sighed and shook his head. “You wouldn’t want me telling them things you hadn’t shared, would you?”
“I suppose not.” Did Jack feel the same way as Eli? Was that why he hadn’t invited me to see the business he was so proud of sooner? Well, I was going to go out of my way tonight to prove to him that I wasn’t going to be scared off. I trusted Jack to understand there was more of the kink lifestyle I could never picture myself trying than there was that interested me.
When we arrived at the club, it was nothing like I had expected. It wasn’t a dark, seedy place with all the warmth of a medieval dungeon. It felt more like an upscale cigar bar. Somehow, it seemed like exactly the type of place Jack would create.
Eli turned around, crossing his arms tightly over his chest, while Doug checked us in at the front desk. “A few things before we head in.”
I fought the urge to roll my eyes. Eli wasn’t my Daddy, and I didn’t have to listen just because he started throwing rules around. Hell, it was hard enough for me to not talk back when Jack added new items on his list of things for me to either do or avoid.
“I’m serious, Slade,” Eli said sternly. Oops. Apparently, I hadn’t hidden my annoyance as well as I thought. “The club can be overwhelming for anyone, if they haven’t been here before. You’re going to see things that you don’t understand. Don’t stare. This isn’t a circus freak show and the men inside aren’t here to be on display.”
“But some of them might be,” Doug pointed out, and Jordan slapped a hand over his mouth to stifle his laughter.
Eli glared at Doug, then at Jordan, then narrowed his eyes at me, as if daring me to laugh as well. I held up my hands in surrender. “I’m listening, Eli. But I’m pretty sure Doug is right. There are probably at least a few guys in there who would love nothing more than for Jordan and me to watch what they’re doing. You act like we’re kids. We’re not. Just because we haven’t been in kink clubs before, doesn’t mean we lack basic courtesy. Now, is there anything else or can I go find Jack?”
It was a bit strange to not have to carefully avoid talking about Jack anymore. I liked the fact that he had reached out to Doug and invited all of them to come down here tonight. Even though I wasn’t particularly close with Doug and Eli, now that we were here, I understood why Jack hadn’t immediately agreed to Jordan accompanying me without them. They needed to be here for him.
“He’s probably back in his office,” Doug informed me. “He spends more time back there than anywhere else.”
“Why?” I had imagined Jack as the type of business owner who sauntered around the room, chatting up his regulars and greeting everyone who he had never seen in there before.
“That’s for you to take up with him,” Eli responded curtly, then glared at Doug again. It was strange. When we were all at Club 83, or the few times I had hung out with Jordan at their apartment, I got the impression that Doug was the top dog, so to speak, but here, Eli seemed more in his element and definitely in charge. He jerked his head toward the door leading from the reception area into the main club.
“I feel seriously overdressed,” I muttered to Jordan as I took in the plethora of naked torsos. There were even a few guys here wearing little more than a jock.
“Same,” Jordan responded. “Next time, we definitely need to plan ahead. They like to coddle me, but this is really cool. I think it could be fun to try and shock Eli. Do you think Jack would help me with that?”
“I don’t know, but you should definitely ask him.” We hadn’t talked about much when it came to all of this, but I got the impression Jordan was far more adventurous than either of his men thought.
I caught a glimpse of broad shoulders and salt-and-pepper hair, covered in a navy pinstripe jacket. There was only one man who’d be in a place like this dressed like that. “I’ll catch up with you in a bit. I’m going to go let Jack know I’m here.”
The bartender’s eyes widened, and he did a double-take as I eased my way through the crowd toward Jack. I paid him no attention as I wrapped my arms around Jack’s waist from behind. He stiffened, and I thought I’d just made a huge mistake. Then, he spun around, his mouth open, ready to lecture me. He flashed me a wide smile before hugging me just as tightly and kissing the top of my head.
“Hey baby,” he greeted me. “It’s good to see you here.”
He reached for my hand and grabbed the elastic around my wrist. It was funny to see how much Jack liked grooming me. And, unless he was in a certain mood, he always tied my hair back for me when it was hanging loose. He said it was because he wanted easy access to my neck but wasn’t a fan of a mouthful of hair. I could live with that logic.
“Nice place you got here, Daddy.” My heart skipped a beat when I realized what I had just called him. That was a name that had, until now, been reserved for the privacy of my apartment. Would he have a problem with me sinking into that role here?
“I’m glad you think so.” Jack chuckled, releasing me from his embrace but keeping one arm curled around my back. “It’s not too stuffy for you?”
So, there was part of the problem. I was used to dive bars, and Jack worried I’d judge him for how posh this place seemed. I cringed, realizing I had brought that on myself. I was the one who made a big deal about our differences when we first got together. He had never treated me like I was less than him, but I had certainly made assumptions based on the way he looked and what he drove. Maybe I wasn’t the only one dealing with insecurities.
