From my pocket I pull out a box, and she scoffs. “Condoms.”
“Rich,” she groans, “there’s three condoms in that thing. Did you pick it up at the gas station?”
“I have more class than that,” I tell her with a grin, looping her hand through my elbow when she keeps standing there. “It’s from my private stock. I’ve even got my logo on there.”
“Do you really design condoms?” she asks skeptically, letting me pull her away from the car.
“No. That’s not my forte.” I glance down at her, eyeing the form hugging purple dress that she chose tonight and the tall platforms that I pulled out of my stockpile for her. They are just her style, and reminds me of the sketch of her that’s still sitting in my notepad at home. “Toys and clothes. Not everything is custom made but it is hand picked.”
She nods, reaching up to toy with the necklace I gave her. She’s still wearing it even though we aren’t playing chase, and she fingers the red stone in the middle. Her nerves are definitely on edge, but unless Jo went around and told the staff she’s notallowed in, technically there’s no reason either one of us would be denied entry.
As we open the door, I reach into my pocket and hand over the maroon lanyard. Her eyes round as we step into the light, the shadows of fall in Denver disappearing behind us. “You brought my submissive lanyard?”
“You brought it with you from home,” I say, and our eyes meet. There’s a short security line to get in, and we just fit into the doorway as we wait. “It's been sitting on the bathroom counter for a few days.”
She hesitates as I drape it over her head, dropping her gaze and staring down at it, the little red ring twisted through the end. “I don’t have a set partner. Who’s the red?”
Smirking, I pull the other club lanyard out of my pocket and show it to her. It’s gold, which is usually reserved for staff and security, and at the bottom is a maroon ring. “That would be me.”
Her eyes widen. “Gold is for when you’re working.”
“I haven’t had the chance yet to grab a red one,” I explain. “I still have to pay the membership fee before I’m official.”
Kimber purses her lips, slowly shaking her head, but there’s a sparkle in her eye. “Jo’s going to hate this.”
“Oh, she’ll be okay. You’re not dangerous to anyone but the man you killed,” I say, leaning in to speak against her ear, “and he deserved it.”
She shudders, turning her gaze up to me as we reach the front of the line. There’s two guards tonight, so it’s going to be a busy one. When Russell spots us, he starts laughing. “Oh, this will be good.”
Kimber looks between us worriedly. “He knows-”
“Russell knows you’re a good person,” I say, turning her back to face him. Russell’s looking at us in amusement, and theguy next to him watches curiously as he helps the next person in line. “Right?”
“Hmm.” He looks between us and chuckles. “I know that. Let’s see if everyone else does. Give me the bag and I’ll check you both in.”
It only takes a moment to pass into the club, and Russell goes off to place Kimber’s bag in the secure coat area until we leave. I hand him my phone too, because I can’t have it back there, and I can just hear him saying‘good luck’as we make our way inside.
It’s packed, and I’m reminded why I always make deliveries early. There’s a lot of green badges in the crowd, so once again, they are letting in a wave of newbies. This is why bringing along our membership badges was a good idea.
Kim does a little circle, the worry in her eyes slowly slipping away as she breathes in the club. I glance around to see if I spot any of her friends, or any of the people she’s starting to get closer with, but my eyes catch on someone else instead.
“What the hell, Rich?” Vinny calls, stalking over to me. I don’t see his wife anywhere in sight, but Emeric is walking just behind him, talking to a tall man with pale blond hair. I’m about as tall as Vinny is, but this guy's almost half a foot taller than either of us, and I vaguely remember seeing him around the club, his cane making him memorable.
“Vinny,” I say with a nod, and Kimber shrinks beside me. “That took seconds.”
He groans, his gaze going between us. Vinny gives off a very commanding presence between the tattoos that cover most of his skin and the cold look in his eyes. He’s always in black, and today is no exception, the sleeves of his dark shirt rolled to reveal even more ink across his forearms. He scowls as he glares at me. “I don’t think I even need to explain why I’m disappointed to see the two of you here.”
“Sorry, Vinny,” Kimber says, dropping her head. I know the club is very lifestyle driven, and Vinny is a Dom, but she needs to be looking at him right now instead of falling into the submissive role. She’s not trying to impress anyone. “I - uh, we wanted to-”
“I brought you a present,” I say, reaching into my pocket and Kim groans. “Stock.”
Vinny’s unamused gaze flickers down to the box and back again. “Condoms.”
“Big crowd,” I say with a smirk. “They’ll be busy.”
Vinny groans, dragging his gaze between the two of us. “I’m not debating this with the two of you. There’s a reason the rules are in place. If you don’t want to follow them you don’t have a place here.”
“That seems a little intense,” the tall blond says, and Vinny pivots around to glare at him. Closer up I realize he has dual colored eyes; this guy is just full of surprises. “I mean, it’s supposed to be all that found family and shit here, right?”
