Ambling down the street to the club, I took in my surroundings. This was an artsy area of town that I’d mostly ignored most of my life. The graffiti lining the alley created beautiful murals where most people saw vandalism.
I paused, taking in the scene in front of me. Each couple was unique, whether in their depicted race or gender pairing. They walked along a street lined with rainbows and playing children. It was a stunning statement to what this area was dedicated to bringing to life in their sleepy southern town.
“Blake, I thought you said you weren’t coming out tonight.” I shouldn’t have stopped to take in the street art.
I plastered a manufactured smile on my face as I turned to see Jag, a Dom who had been relentless about asking me to do a hardcore scene with his boy. I knew him from a club that had since shut down, and really had no desire to scene with him. He was a dick to his boys and only respected safe words when someone was around to call him out on his shit. It honestly surprised me that he’d managed to pass the background check to get a membership at DeSires.
“No, I said I wasn’tavailabletonight,” I corrected him.
My stomach churned when I noticed the boy next to him. There was a hint of All-American boy in there, but he was gaunt with ashen skin and there were dark circles under his eyes. He’d obviously tried styling his hair and dressing so he wouldn’t embarrass Jag, but even that wasn’t enough to cover the signs of mistreatment.
I narrowed my eyes on Jag, my gaze quickly shooting to the young man, a silent warning that I knew something abusive was going on here. I turned my attention to the still-silent companion. “I’m sorry, we haven’t met. I’m Blake.”
The boy’s gaze shot to the ground. His shoulders tensed, and it took everything in me to keep from knocking Jag to the ground and helping the boy find sanctuary at DeSires.
“His name is none of your business,” Jag spat out.
“Are you headed to DeSires?” I hoped they were, because I wanted to keep an eye on this situation. When I got there, my first order of business—even before saying hi to Danny—was tracking John down to ask him how in the hell Jag was allowed to become a member. Poison like him could bring down an entire club. “You know it’s not open to the public tonight, right?”
“I’m not fucking stupid, Blake.” Jag shoved past me. “My boy has a membership and I’m his guest for the night.”
That explained a lot. Jag’s reputation preceded him, and no respectable club would let him in. But I wasn’t about to tell him he was going to have an issue getting into the club, no matter whose guest he was.
“Where you’re slumming it down here, I have to assume you lied to me.” Jag was as thick-headed as they came. No matter how many times I clarified I had never said I wouldn’t be here, only that I wasn’t going to play with them, he’d see it as a personal affront. “Do you think you can spare an hour for us? As you can see, my boy needs a bit ofspecializedattention.”
“We’ll have to see,” I lied. If I refused, there was a chance he wouldn’t follow me, and Ineededto get this young man to safety. “I do have a prior commitment, but I can find you if I have time after we’re done.”
There was no chance in hell that was going to happen. If things went according to plan tonight, I was going to tease Danny and test his limits before following him back to his apartment so I could sink deep into his body again. The past month had been just as hard on me as it had been on him, and last night had completely broken my ability to do the right thing. Ineededhim like I’d never needed anyone.
I was acutely aware of Jag and his boy behind me as I walked down the street to DeSires. I mentally kicked myself for parking behind Danny’s building. The last thing I needed was a pissed off, unstable asshole knowing where he lived. And I had no doubt Jag was vindictive enough to track me down.
As a safeguard, I texted John, telling him I needed him to keep an eye on the front door of The Lodge for when I walked in. He’d know what was up the second he saw who was following me. Next, I typed a message to Danny, begging him tonotacknowledge me until I walked up to him. It was going to hurt him, but I hoped that—with a lot of explaining and groveling—he’d understand why it was so important.
John’s nostrils flared when he spotted Jag. He kept his voice low as I pulled my ID out of my wallet and handed it to him. “What in the hell is he doing here?”
“Says the boy is a member,” I muttered, trying to keep from drawing any unwanted attention. Across the room, Danny slid off his stool and started walking in our direction. I pressed my lips into a thin line and shook my head. His expression fell, and it took everything in me to keep from rushing to his side. I wanted to reassure him that I wasn’t trying to ignore him, but not until I knew Jag was out of sight. “There anything you can do?”
“William’s here tonight,” John informed me. That was unusual. Typically, he would be at home with the kid if Corey was working. “Get him and tell him and Corey to head into DeSires. We need to keep an eye on things. Do you think Danny can get behind the bar?”
“Yeah, that’ll be fine.” He was going to be upset that he needed to work, but this was what you did when you were part of the community. We needed to handle the situation carefully to keep from drawing even more unwanted attention or drama. “Should I get Jack, too?”
“Yeah, let him know what’s going on.” John pulled out his phone again. “My brother’s on his way, too.”
“Aww hell, why’d you call him?” Stephen was a hothead and wherever he showed up, trouble followed.
“Not getting into it right now.” John handed my ID back and waved me in. I headed for the main bar on the Lodge side. I wished I had stuck around to hear what John was going to say to Jag.
“I’ll explain later,” I told Danny as I stepped up to the bar between him and Slade. “We’ve got a bit of a situation, and I don’t want him knowing that you’re with me.”
“Who?” Danny asked. I elbowed him when he started to turn to look toward the entrance to DeSires. He let out a grunt and picked up his drink. “That hurt.”
“Then do as I say.” I jerked my head for Corey to come down by us. I didn’t want to waste time repeating the plan over and over. “Corey, you’re supposed to get William and head into DeSires. Danny, I know you’re off tonight, but we need you behind the bar. Slade, I need you to go get Jack and tell him to come and see me.”
“What in the hell’s going on?” Corey bristled, immediately on guard. I couldn’t blame him. I’d have been pissed, too, if someone who didn’t work there came in and started ordering everyone around.
“There’s someone who shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near a kink club that just went into DeSires as someone’s guest,” I explained.
Danny shook his head. “No way. John’s memorized every name on the banned list. He wouldn’t let anyone get past him.”
