His expectant smile is lost on me, the echoes ofa time and a placegripping me by the throat. And not in the way I like. Did Dan... fuck in here? In front of everyone? Why would he ignore my tentative advances outside the four walls of his home? Was he afraid of letting his own deviancy show?
Suddenly, something from the far side of the room snags my gaze, the pull as strong as the sun.
Dan stands in the wide doorway. That he wears a mask makes little difference. I’d know him anywhere.
My heart rises, my hand almost along with it, moving instead to secure my own disguise as I remember that this isn’t a social call.
If hope is a thing with feathers, it also has claws sharp enough to tear out a heart.
Chapter Thirty-Four
DAN
I’ve heard the term incandescent with rage but not with relief. And as I stand at the door to the main salon, I’m certain I must be glowing because the sight of her is pure relief. For at least a minute. Until I take in her clothing, her overtly sexual state of dress.She looks like a submissive’s wet dream. I wonder if she knows?
If she thinks that ridiculous mask would protect her, she’s sorely wrong. She obviously has no idea how much it accentuates her plush, red mouth, a mouth just begging for another’s kiss. I wonder how long it will be before someone tries. My thoughts darken as I wonder if she’ll let them. And how long they’ll retain their arms following.I’ll rip the fuckers off. Beat them to death with the bloody ends.Behind my own mask, my brow furrows. She’s in a sex club and well aware of the fact. She hasn’t confused the place, hoping to partake in a spot of afternoon tea. I sigh. The mask doesn’t conceal a thing. Not her desirability. Not her desire, ignited by the window scene.
That Louise is here with someone is secondary. But that she’s here, in this place I’ve hidden from her ... makes my stomach plummet and twist.
Why come at all? Not a reconciliation. That’s obvious, especially as I catch the bastard next to her holding out his hand.
Revenge, then.
I curl my fingers around the doorframe, grounding myself, so strong is the urge to storm across the room. Instead, I gesture to one of the staff to follow me out into the hallway. My floor staff are all very discreet, there to oversee while remaining unseen. Jessica, this evening’s event manager, happens to be standing close by and follows me out immediately.
‘The couple by the fireplace,’ I grate out, watching her eyes flare. I don’t have the bandwidth for civility today.
She pulls out a small electronic tablet from the pocket of her skirt, anticipating what I want to know. Luke’s name and address. How many times he’d visited the club—twice as a guest. His proclivities—mostly submissive. That his application shows he identifies as straight but is open to same sex encounters.
‘His companion–’
‘Is of no concern to him,’ I growl, the cogs in my head beginning to turn.
LOUISE
‘It’s Dan Masters.’
The whispered statement seems to travel through the room, even though I only truly hear Luke’s astonishment.
‘So I see.’ My tone is a bitter acknowledgment.
‘You know him?’ Luke’s exclamation is paired with wide eyes. I begin to wonder what Scott had actually said in the office last Monday, weighing up how much he’d exaggerated.Fucking men. ‘When I came as a guest,’ Luke continues, his eyes no less wide, ‘I watched him use a naked woman as a footstool. Then he caned her for spilling some.’
I swallow pain. I swallow his words. I try not to choke on all the things I don’t know about the man I love.
‘I’ve met him.’ I try to shrug, my body stiff.
‘They say he rarely comes here anymore,’ Luke whispers, right about the time it becomes obvious he’s making a beeline for me.
‘Darling.’ One quietly spoken word. And how it makes my heart ache.
‘Daniel,’ I return, hoping he doesn’t notice the waver in my tone. Or the tremble in my hand as I raise the empty glass to my lips to take a sip of nothingness.Hell.
‘No, darling,’ Dan purrs. Taking the glass from my hand, he replaces it with another taken from one of the ridiculously dressed waitress. I wonder if his staff are coached to cater to all Dan’s whims? ‘That’s not how it works here.’ His tone is smooth, dark, and dangerous as he turns to Luke. ‘Mr. Smith, I believe.’
‘No, he—’
I don’t get to finish as Luke holds out his hand in confirmation, adding in an all-knowing tone, ‘We’re all anonymous. Except for the Master here.’
