Club X-Dare (Siren Publishing Allure) (21 page)

“You have two club managers. Call them and discuss it with them. Tradition is to have a photo of the club on the invitation with a stress put on accepted members only to attend. There is usually a line in the fine print that says we are terribly sorry, but please don’t bring a spouse or date unless they are a member. No one under twenty-one allowed inside the club. The password for the mainframe is exotica spelled with an X like the club name. You can find guidelines for invitations in the FAQ section. We will also need a photo of you for the site and the owners’ billboard. Wear something sexy. There is an excellent photographer over on Davie near the Home Depot. I have to get going. I was actually on my way out for the day when I saw your car pull up,” Mark said, getting to his feet. “The numbers for Gene and Vince are on your desk, along with a stack of employee applications.” He set a key down in front of her. “Lock the door when you leave. The code for the alarm is 6969.”

“Cute code. Thanks for everything, Mark. I have to head back up north in the morning. Can you hang out for a little while longer and run things? I would rather stay up with Condor until he gets back on his feet.”

“I will be here until you don’t need me anymore. Take it easy, Aino. You seem a little stressed or maybe uptight compared to when I first met you. Everything okay, if I can ask?”

“Fine, I am just a little worn out. Things will get better when Condor gets going on his own again. For now he can’t do much of anything.”

“Well, have a good evening.”

She watched as Mark walked out the door and sat back, putting her hands behind her head. Maybe Condor wasn’t the problem. Maybe she was the problem.

Condor looked at his watch again, a thin line of sweat rolling down the back of his shirt. He was dressed in a dark-blue suit, with a brilliant red rose in the lapel. Evan stood behind him, and Barry at his side. Caroline and her husband had flown in and she was at the end of the makeshift isle, keeping an eye on the outer door. Barry knelt down beside Condor’s chair and whispered, “Where is she?”

“I don’t know. I talked to her last night, and she was supposed to be here at the club by twelve. I tried to call her this morning, and she had her phone shut off. I was thinking that maybe her battery was dead. I called the house, but she didn’t answer. I can’t believe all the people who wandered in.”

“Well, we did as you asked and sent out e-mails, plus put a notice up on the website inviting everyone who wanted to come. It looks like a lot of people read the e-mail. There are a ton of gifts out in the bar.”

Condor glanced at his watch again. “Twelve twenty. Call her for me. I don’t want to look any more ridiculous than I already do by flipping open my phone and dialing her. Everyone is standing around looking at me like a dog on the side of the road that is too badly hurt to try to save.”

“That is a pleasant analogy.” Barry groaned as he stood up and flipped open his phone. He was halfway through dialing Aino’s number when she walked in with Jeffrey at her side. She was dressed in a dramatic red, oriental dress with black-embroidered dragon stockings. Her hair had been lightened, and she slipped off a pair of blue reflective sunglasses, handing them to Jeffrey.

She stopped for a moment, smiling as Caroline hugged her. “You didn’t show up for my wedding, but I came for yours,” Caroline teased.

“I have apologized a hundred times. I was taking care of Condor. I couldn’t leave.”

“I know. I’m only teasing you. Since when did you get so serious?” Aino pursed her lips, frowning deeply and Caroline gave her another hug. “Okay. Go get married. We can talk later.” A smile appeared on her lips as she strolled through the crowd and leaned down to kiss Condor. “Sorry, there was an accident in front of me on the highway. I tried to call, but your phone is turned off.”

Condor pulled out his phone and glanced at it. When he turned it on, it flashed low battery and went dead. “I was beginning to think you weren’t coming.”

“I almost didn’t. I realized last night that I was feeling confined. Trapped in a guise of being domestic. I’m never going to find pleasure in being the happy homemaker. I want to be your wife and make this commitment to you. I will never have sex with another man, and I will never betray you. I need space though. I need the freedom of going down to the other club and being on my own. I need your trust that I can play with anyone but still be only yours. I am trapped in an illusion where I am not allowing myself to be who I am. I can’t keep lying to myself and believe that I can put aside the part of me that enjoys being controlling. I don’t want to be that way with you, but I need to have an outlet for that side of my personality. Without it, I’m becoming a caged beast.”

Condor put his hands to her cheeks. “You look beautiful. I never asked you to give up your freedom. Honestly, you were getting on my nerves being around all the time. I’m not going to be happy seeing you once or twice a month, but we can work out details later. Right now, we have a club full of people standing around waiting to see what is going to happen. Marry me, and then stay with me until I get back on my feet. After that, we will work something out. Deal?”

“Deal.”

Jeffrey slid a chair up behind her and kissed her on the cheek. He raised his hands for silence and then bowed his head to Evan.

Evan rolled his eyes in a visual display of displeasure. “I guess this is really going to happen. The bride is here, and the groom is grinning from ear to ear.”

Condor laughed and took Aino’s hand. She returned his gesture with a smile. Evan said, “We are gathered here in the dungeon to honor a request for the two people who sit before you to be joined by the legal word of marriage. I look at them at this moment and see a perfect expression of love on both their faces. I have known Condor for a good portion of my life, and Aino is the best thing that has ever happened to him. She has proven herself to be the most magnificent of mistresses here at the club, yet she is the most faithful woman I have ever met. She has left the best of you whining at her feet without a single bat of an eye. We are all at your mercy, Condor, because this day you take into your heart the one thing all of us can only hope to have. You take the love and honor of a woman so strong in spirit that she belittles the rest of us. May your life together be far smoother than your engagement has been.

“Brian Kylie, do you take this woman to be your lawful wedded wife, to honor and cherish from this day forward for as long as you both shall live?”

“I do.”

“Samantha Bell, do you take this man to be your lawful wedded husband, to honor and cherish from this day forward for as long as you both shall live?”

“I do.”

“Then by the power vested in me by the state of Florida, I now pronounce you husband and wife. Kiss your bride.”

Condor wrapped his arm around her and leaned his head back, allowing Aino to kiss him. They got a round of applause from those gathered in the dungeon and those outside. Those gathered then formed a wide space for Condor and Aino to walk through, and when she daintily sat across the bars of his wheelchair, she got another round of applause. He rolled them into the bar, and Aino laughed, giving him a hard kiss. The entire room was filled with vases of red and white roses. The bar had been laid out with trays of steaming food and there was a large table covered with gifts. Everything had been decorated to appear as a festive hall in a wedding chapel. There was a table separated from the rest by an archway and the words I LOVE YOU were scrolled across the hanging part of the tablecloth. “Condor, this is perfect. Thank you.”

“It is I who should thank you for showing up. I can’t believe that I didn’t check the battery on the phone.”

She hopped off the wheelchair and walked through the archway. Condor followed, and she got him settled before taking a seat behind the table. “So tell me about the club,” he asked with expectation in his voice.

“No! Tell me about our test results. Our conversation got cut short last night when Vince and Gene walked in. You never told me what the doctor said.”

“My body looks good. I should have the cast off in about two weeks. He said I can start using my left arm, just to get it moving, nothing heavy or strenuous. My ribs are healing nicely. My lungs sound good. There is no sign of tears or any unusual bleeding. The hip is set and healing perfectly. He wants Jeffrey to start me on some light therapy to make my recovery easier once I am totally healed. I don’t have brain damage either. I asked.”

Aino laughed and leaned to kiss him again. “I am glad. The club is amazing. I can’t wait for you to see it. Vince and Gene are really nice. We are setting the opening for a month and a half. Hopefully you will be up and walking by then. Mark is watching over the place, and it looks as if all the applicants are perfect. I told Mark that I would be back in a few weeks. Why don’t you come with me? You should be out of the cast by then. We can stop at the house if the drive gets too much for you.”

“I would love that,” he replied in a thoughtful, soft tone. “We can work this out, can’t we?”

“We can try. I think that our love will get us where we want to be as long as we can trust each other. Do you trust me?”

“I do. I got a little flaky there for a while, but in the end, yes, I do trust you. Do you trust me?”

“Yeah.”

“Good, because I will never give you a reason not to. I’m not stupid enough to lose the most perfect woman who has ever loved me.”

THE END

Kat Barrett lives in her small home with her husband of many years. She spends much of her time in artistic pursuits, writing or doing artwork.

She is grateful for her family, friends, and her fans and wishes to thank them all for their support.

For all titles by Kat Barrett, please visit

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