MisplacedLessons (10 page)

“No,” she said. “My date will be here soon.”

“Date?”

She silently cursed herself for her stupidity. Once again,
she’d let her impulsiveness overrule her intelligence, jumping into a situation
she didn’t understand without backup. If Marc and Keith were here, they’d read
her the riot act for being such a bloody idiot.

“I’m meeting someone here.”

The stranger lifted her arm, twisting it from side to side
as if looking for something. “You’re not wearing a bracelet.”

“So?”

“So as far as this club is concerned, you’re an unattached
submissive.”

She frowned and glanced down at her outfit. “What makes you
think I’m a submissive?”

The man snorted, the sound neither pleasant nor friendly.
She had fucked up. Big-time.

“There you are,” a strange voice said from behind her.

She glanced over her shoulder as a man she’d never seen
before slipped his arm around her waist, pulling her back against his wide
chest. Great. Now there were two big bad Doms to deal with.

“You forgot this,” the man holding her said, as he lifted
her arm and slid on a blue wristband. “Paulie tried to catch you at the front
door, but you were too quick.”

“Oh.” While she was still nervous, she decided it was better
to play along with the new guy than take her chances with the scary dude. At
least this man had a kind smile and friendly manner.

“She’s with you, Danner?”

Whoever Danner was nodded. “She’s with me and Shaw. You know
the deal.”

Amy sucked in a relieved breath. This man knew Andrew. Maybe
she was saved after all.

Mr. Nasty Guy didn’t seem convinced. “Shaw’s here?”

“He will be in a few minutes. Had a business meeting. If
you’ll excuse us, Amy and I were about to enjoy a bit of the show while we
wait.”

“You shouldn’t walk around without the wristband.” Then the
jerk turned back to Danner. “I hope you and Shaw intend to see she’s properly
punished.”

Amy opened her mouth to blast the arsehole, but Danner’s arm
tightened around her middle.

“It’s up to Shaw and me to deal with our little sub. She
isn’t any of your concern, Schuster.”

Schuster started to speak, then closed his mouth as his eyes
landed on something behind her. Amy turned as Andrew walked up to join their little
party of three.

“Is there a problem, Schuster?” Amy had never heard Andrew’s
voice so cold, so hard.

“Your sub was walking around without a bracelet. That’s
against the club rules.”

Andrew smirked, unconcerned, though Amy felt guilty for
causing him so much trouble. How the hell had he gotten here so fast? There was
no way he could have gone home and found her note already. He was still dressed
in the smart-looking shirt and trousers he wore earlier, so the doorman must’ve
called him.

From the tension around his eyes, it didn’t appear she was
out of trouble yet after all. He was ticked off.

“Take it up with the owners if you’re upset about it.”

Schuster harrumphed. “Like that would do me any good.
They’re all your buddies.”

“Then step off. Amy’s spoken for.”

Schuster shot her a dirty look and walked away from them.

Amy thought she should be relieved, but without the nasty
man around, Andrew’s irate look was suddenly turned on her. “What the hell do
you think you’re doing here?”

She shrugged. “I wanted to see the club. I told you that.”

“And I said no.”

Danner released her, moving to stand next to Andrew. “Why
did you say no?”

Andrew took a step back. It seemed as if he’d forgotten the
other man was there. “Tom, I just didn’t think this was,” Andrew paused
awkwardly before quietly adding, “a good idea.”

Tom didn’t prod, didn’t encourage Andrew to continue.
Instead, his gaze returned to her and she noticed definite interest in his
eyes. “I’m sorry, Amy. We haven’t been properly introduced. I’m Tom Danner.”

“You’re the cameraman.” Several times today, Andrew had
mentioned his cameraman as they’d watched the show. She could tell from the
stories Andrew told, he and Tom were very good friends.

Tom nodded. “Unfortunately, I don’t have a clue who you
are.”

“I’m Amy Wesson, a friend of Harper’s.”

The answer didn’t satisfy Tom. “The gal from Australia?”

Andrew looked at Tom. “You remembered her name?”

Tom shook his head, laugh lines crinkling around his eyes.
“Jesus, buddy. You have the attention span of a three-year-old sometimes.
You’re the pen pal friend, right?”

Amy was impressed. “Yep, Harper and I started out chatting
online about the pen pal program, but then one thing led to another and we
decided to do a life swap for a couple weeks.”

Tom turned to Andrew. “Harper’s in Australia?”

Andrew grimaced. “Yeah.”

Shock permeated Tom’s features. “And you’re not there?
Shadowing her every move?”

Amy gave Andrew an
I told you so
look that seemed to
add to his annoyance. If she were even remotely intelligent, she wouldn’t poke
the bear. But excessive cleverness wasn’t something she’d ever been accused of.

“I don’t know exactly where she is in Australia.”

Tom looked from Andrew to Amy then a grin split his face.
“You won’t tell him.”

It wasn’t a question, but Amy answered anyway. “She’s
perfectly safe. If I thought she needed rescuing I’d tell him where to find
her.”

Tom released a brief, loud bark of laughter. Amy decided
then and there she liked the cameraman. “None of this explains why
you’re
here. And why you refused to bring her to begin with, Andrew. Guests are always
welcome at parties as long as they’re accompanied by a member.”

“I wanted to surprise you,” Amy said to Andrew. “I left you
a note at home.”

“I never made it home. Paulie phoned to chastise me for
forgetting to call and leave the name of my guest.”

She gave him an embarrassed smile, regret crinkling her
nose. “Sorry. Did I mess up your deal with the advertisers?”

“Dinner was nearly over, so it was no problem for me to
claim I had an emergency to attend to.”

“Well, that’s good, I guess. I’m glad you’re here.”

Andrew took her hand in his, lifting it to his lips to kiss.
It was an old-fashioned gesture, but he still managed to make it feel like pure
seduction as he opened his mouth, taking one of her fingers inside to suck on
it.

Tom’s eyes widened. “Looks like you two have become friendly
as well.”

Amy flashed Tom a smile. “Andrew’s teaching me how to be a
submissive.”

Tom choked. “Damn. You’re doing a helluva job so far, Shaw.”

Andrew narrowed his gaze, giving Tom a dirty look. “Fuck
you. I told you to stay home, Amy.”

“I thought it might be more fun to move our lessons here.”

“Yeah, well, lucky for you, Tom was already here and able to
intervene. Otherwise, you’d most likely be spending the evening with Schuster.”

“The arsehole? No way.”

Tom explained. “Amy, you walked into the social room without
a Dom or a bracelet. That’s an open invitation.”

“And I don’t get any say-so?”

Tom shook his head. “Not tonight. It’s a
private
party and there are some fairly strict rules regarding the play at this one.”

She bit her lip. “Oh. Sorry again. I didn’t realize.”

Tom shrugged good-naturedly. “No harm, no foul. So…are you
two planning to stick around for a while?”

Andrew didn’t respond immediately. Instead he studied his friend’s
face before looking at her. His expression was less angry now. If anything, he
seemed to be uptight. Then he nodded slowly. “Sure. Why not? We’re already
here.”

Just when Amy didn’t think Tom’s grin could get any bigger,
he proved her wrong. “Awesome.” He reached into his pocket for something. “I
reserved room seven when I checked in.”

Andrew looked at him. “I told you I wasn’t coming.”

Tom lifted his shoulder. “I was horny tonight. Planning my
first solo act.”

Amy tried to follow their conversation, but wasn’t having
much luck. For a second, it almost sounded as if Andrew and Tom were a couple.
“Um, should I leave?”

Tom laughed again. “Hell no. This party doesn’t happen
without you.”

“What party?”

Andrew closed his eyes briefly. “Come on, Amy. We’re going
to deal with your misbehavior. Then we’re going to continue those lessons.”

“We?”

“Yeah. Tom and I.”

Amy’s mouth went dry as she tried to process Andrew’s
answer. “Um…”

His face lost its tension, as it appeared he’d made up his
mind. “You know your safe word. If you want to say it, say it.” She tried to
decide if he was hoping for that very occurrence. She didn’t think so, but she
couldn’t tell for sure.

Then he winked at her.

Bloody hell. She’d been sleeping with Andrew Shaw for
exactly four nights and already the man knew her biggest weaknesses. Her pride
wouldn’t let her back down from what felt like a blatant dare and she’d already
tested the safe word. She knew he would keep his promise and stop. If she said
no to this experience, she’d regret it for the rest of her life.

She’d told Harper her sexual fantasy was to sleep with a
stranger. Now Andrew was offering her another chance to explore that kink.

She studied Tom’s face. He would walk away if she spoke the
word, she could see it in his eyes. She could also read the hope that lingered
there as well.

“I’m not going to say the word.”

Tom released a long breath. “Thank God. After you.” He
allowed Andrew, who still held her hand, to lead her out of the social room and
down a dimly lit, but elegantly decorated corridor. They stopped in front of a
room and Tom held up a keycard, like those used in hotels. For a sex club,
Velvet Chains was certainly more upscale and classy than she’d expected.

The three of them stepped into the room together. It was a
stylish space, well lit with over a dozen candles.

“Wow.”

Andrew squeezed her hand. She hadn’t faced him since
agreeing to the ménage. Part of her was afraid of what she’d see. Did he want
this? He’d been the one to suggest it, but there was something in his eyes that
had appeared hesitant, uncertain.

She forced her gaze to meet his and breathed a sigh of
relief. Andrew was the same, his face compassionate, patient, understanding.

“I have a suspicion this isn’t exactly uncharted territory
for you guys.”

Andrew shook his head. “No. It’s not new to us. We always
share at the club.”

“Always?”

He hesitated long enough to let her know this wasn’t a
conversation he was comfortable having. She’d noticed the same reticence when
he’d talked about his family. Andrew Shaw was a private man, which made her all
the more interested in peeling back the layers. She wanted to know more about
him. Everything.

Which was a bad plan. He was returning to work in two days
and she was going home to Farpoint a week later. Better to keep things casual.
Fun sex with no strings. Anything more than that was going to be dangerous to
her heart.

“Andrew was the one who introduced me to the club, to BDSM.
I was anxious to learn more about domination and submission. He offered to walk
me through the paces the first few times, but it soon became apparent we liked
sharing women. Since then, whenever we’re at the club, we share.”

Tom’s explanation sparked more questions in Amy’s mind. Was
that why Andrew had refused to bring her to the club? Because he knew the
evening would end with Tom in their bed? If that was true and he didn’t want
it, then why were they all in this room together now?

“You only share at the club?”

Andrew nodded. “We’ve limited the threesome play to here. We
don’t indulge in the same games when we’re on the road.”

“Or whenever you’re in a serious relationship with a woman?”
She was digging. Amy hoped Andrew didn’t figure it out.

Tom chuckled. “I don’t share my girlfriends with Andrew.”

The answer didn’t satisfy her. Didn’t tell her what she
wanted to know.

When Andrew failed to respond, Tom filled in the other
blank. “And Shaw here is a commitment-phobe. Never been in a serious
relationship with a woman in all the time I’ve known him.”

Tom missed the slight wince his words provoked from Andrew,
but Amy didn’t. She wasn’t sure how to handle that information. Not that it
mattered. She couldn’t be his girlfriend. Time and geography were not on her
side. But she couldn’t help wondering why Andrew was reluctant to fall in love,
to get close to someone. From all Harper had said over the past year, she knew
Andrew loved his sister intensely. So why was he resistant to letting those
emotions carry over to someone else?

Andrew stepped closer, pulling her shirt over her head
before she could consider his actions or the consequences of them. It was an
evasion—pure and simple. The conversation was over.

It didn’t matter. She was ready for this.

Her heart skipped a beat when Tom came up behind her, his
hands gripping her bare waist, his lips lightly kissing the side of her neck.

Andrew watched her, studied her reactions. She smiled as she
ran her hand along his chest. Slipping loose the buttons on his shirt, Andrew
pulled it off so she could touch bare skin.

Tom unfastened her bra, letting the lace fall to the floor.
Amy shivered slightly when he reached around her, touching her breasts, toying
with her tight nipples.

“God,” she said on a hushed breath.

Andrew smiled. “You’re so fucking sexy, Amy.”

She lifted her hands to his shoulders. “Kiss me.”

Andrew complied, bending to press his lips against hers as
Tom continued to play with her breasts. Andrew cupped her cheeks in his large,
strong palms, turning her head to deepen the kiss. She’d never tasted such
passion. For a moment, she actually felt lightheaded.