Rapturous (19 page)

I giggle to myself as I imagine his reaction at hearing they lost me. He’ll be out of his mind, just the way I want him.
 

The car drops me outside my building, where there’s no sign of Gordon’s men. I shower and change into a sexy black dress and four-inch heels that seem fitting for the outing I’ve got
planned. I head down to the street level to watch for Tenley.

She pulls up a short time later in the white Mercedes G-Class SUV she says is essential to her styling business. I jump into the passenger seat, suppressing a gasp as the hard seat connects with my tender ass. I take a careful look in the mirrors, trying to gauge whether we’re being followed. I don’t see any sign of the car that followed
me earlier.
 

I breathe a little easier at knowing I’ve made a clean escape and shift in my seat, trying to find a comfortable position.

“You look hot,” she says, casting a sideways glance at me as she darts through traffic.

“You always look hot.” Her long dark hair is captured in a messy bun that’s deceptively casual. I can’t see her outfit in the dark, but I have no doubt she’s perfectly turned
out in something no one else has seen yet. Such is the advantage of being one of Hollywood’s top stylists. As one of her close friends, I benefit from her designer castoffs.

“So this is all about research tonight, right?”

“Yep.”

“That’s all you can say?”

“Yep.”

“You have the coolest job. You know that?”

“No,
you
have the coolest job.”

“I’ve never had anyone ask me to do BDSM research in
any of my jobs.”

Neither have I, but that’s not something she needs to know. The way I see it, this research is for a good cause. It’s about convincing my future husband that I can be the woman he needs in every way that matters to him.
 

My future husband
… Where in the hell had that thought come from? Well, isn’t that what I want? Don’t I want everything with him? Hell, yes, I do. I want everything.
I want forever with him, and I’m determined to show him there’s nothing he could ask of me that would be too much. Somehow I have to make him see that all I want from him is
him
—
all
of him.
 

I’m not blind to the faults my father has identified in Hayden. I’ve seen his foul temper and his surliness. But I’ve also seen the way he takes care of his mother, even after the many times she’s disappointed
him. He never gives up on her, and I like to think the care he shows her is a much more accurate picture of who he really is than his temper or surliness.

“You’re quiet,” Tenley says when we’re stopped in traffic.

“Tell me more about Devon Black.”

“He’s hot as fuck, for one thing.”

“Have you…”

“I’ll never tell,” she says with a saucy grin that tells me she definitely has.
 

“So you participate
in the lifestyle?”

“You could say that.”

“What’s it like?”

“Well,” she says with a sigh, “it’s amazing and intense and a little crazy at first. Being submissive to a man in bed takes some getting used to when you’re accustomed to calling the shots in the rest of your life.”
 

“How did you decide to try it?”

“I met Devon at a party one of my clients had. I was immediately intrigued. He invited
me to his club, and one thing led to another.”

“Did he tell you about the club the night you met him?” I laugh at myself. “Sorry—I have so many questions.”

“No problem. Ask away. I’m an open book. You know that. And yes, he did tell me from the beginning that he’s a Dom and owns a club that caters to the BDSM lifestyle.”

“That wasn’t a turn-off to you?”

“Hell no. It was a turn-
on
. I’d never
met a man who was so blatant about his sexuality. I mean, he owns a club that caters to his every desire. I liked that he was honest about it, you know? No games, no subterfuge. He was just out and proud. There’s a lot to be said for that level of honesty.”

“Yes, I can see the appeal.” I also understand why Hayden and Flynn can’t be out or proud. The Hollywood media would have a field day with
that information. Still, Hayden could’ve trusted me with it. Who did he think I would tell? “So are you still seeing Devon?”

“I am. It’s been almost a year now.”

“I can’t believe you’ve kept such a big secret from me for so long!”

“I’m still not sure where it’s going, so I haven’t said much about it to anyone. He hasn’t met my family. I haven’t met his. We’ve kept it between us.”

“How come?”

“I’m not sure exactly. We don’t really talk about it all that much. We’re too busy having mind-altering sex.”

We share a laugh at the blunt way she says that.
 

“Sex that lasts for hours doesn’t leave much time for talking,” she adds.
 

“Hours…” I think about the two times I’ve been with Hayden and his amazing stamina both times. “You like that?”

“I didn’t think I would, but Devon has shown
me the benefits of endurance.”

“Do you do it in public at the club?”

“We have.”

“Does the fear of being recognized scare you?”

She shrugs. “If someone recognizes me, it’s not like they’ll say anything. That’s the fastest way to get thrown out of the club. Security, safety and privacy are Devon’s top priorities at the club. It took me a while to believe I could really let go and submit in public
without fear of it being all over town by morning. But the more time I spent at the club, the more I encountered people with far more to lose than I’ll ever have, and no one knew about them. Ugh, this fucking traffic. We don’t have time to get a drink before we hit the club. That’s okay. We can have one there.”

“So you’re an actual member now?”

“Yep. Got a card and everything.”

“Would you do
what you do with Devon with other guys, or is it just him?”

“We’ve decided to be exclusive for now, so no, no other guys for me, but he’s offered to set up a threesome if I want to try it.”

I’m more fascinated by the second with this whole new side to my friend. “Do you?”

She glances over at me before returning her attention to the stop-and-go traffic. “I’m thinking about it. He says it would
be incredible, and I believe he’d make sure it was for me.”

“What’s stopping you?”

“I wonder how I’d feel the next day knowing I’d had sex with two guys at the same time.”

“One of my college friends did it during Spring Break one year. Everyone knew, and she was mortified.”

“Did she like it while it was happening?”

“I think she was too trashed to remember much of it.”

“Ahh, so she went the
liquid-courage route. That’s not an option at Devon’s club. They have a two-drink limit. Most of the better clubs do. They don’t want people getting into alcohol-fueled situations they’ll regret in the morning. Everyone has to be clearheaded and healthy to belong to his club.”

“He requires proof of health?”

“You bet. They have doctors on staff who do exams right onsite, so there’s no funny business
with results. That’s something Devon doesn’t budge on. See our doctors, or no admittance.”

I swallow hard at the thought of being poked and prodded in order to obtain training, but I’ll do it if it gets me closer to understanding what makes Hayden tick.
 

We drive up into the hills, not far from where Flynn lives, and a few minutes later, Tenley takes a turn into a driveway that isn’t immediately
visible from the road. I’m not sure what I expected, but the vast estate that unfolds before me is a surprise. It looks like someone’s house—a rich someone, but a private home nonetheless.
 

“We have to shut off our phones to go in there, so I always leave mine in the car.”

“I’ll do the same.” I power mine down and then do hers for her. I put them in the glove box for safekeeping.

The house
has a stone façade with pillars and a grand entryway that’s staffed by handsome young men wearing black vests over white shirts with black bow ties.
 

One of them opens Tenley’s door and greets her by name.

“Hi, there,” she says. “This is my friend, Addison. Devon is expecting us.”

“Yes, ma’am.” He helps her out of the car while another hot young man helps me. “He let us know. You have a good
night.”

“Thank you.” Tenley hooks her arm through mine as we make our way inside, where doors are opened for us by more beautiful employees—male and female.
 

“Is this where people who don’t score acting jobs come to pass the time until they get their big breaks?”

She laughs. “I tease Dev all the time about hiring from central casting.”

We reach a reception desk where Tenley presents her membership
ID to be scanned by the attendant, another handsome young man. “I have a guest tonight.”

I’m given a detailed confidentiality form that outlines the rules of the club, the importance of confidentiality and a warning that violators will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. I sign and date it and return it to the attendant.
 

“Have a nice evening.” He presses a button that opens frosted
glass doors with half of the Black Vice logo on each side.

Tenley clearly knows her way around the club and leads me up the grand staircase to what was probably once a ballroom. Today, it’s a fully functioning BDSM club. It’s almost too much to take in at one time. There are multiple stages where various performances are taking place. One has a topless woman working a pole with amazing skill
and athleticism that captivates me as well as the men and women who watch her.
 

On another stage, a naked woman is bent over a bench of some sort. A man in tight black leather pants and no shirt is spanking her with an implement that looks like a ping-pong paddle.
 

I tear my gaze off that scene to take in the action on a third stage. A woman dressed in a black leather corset with fishnet stockings
and spike heels is standing over a man lying prone on the floor before her. She digs her heel into his back, making him scream from the pain. Then she flips her hand, and I see that she’s holding a bullwhip. “She’s not going to… Oh my God!” The whip comes down on his back, and he screams even louder than he did the first time. “
Holy
hell
.”

“She’s a dominatrix. Men pay top dollar to submit to
her.”

I’m so transfixed by what I’m seeing that Tenley has to take me by the shoulders to steer me toward the bar. The rest of the room consists of tables and seating areas where people in street clothes and bondage attire are conversing over drinks. If you were to remove the stages and the costumes, it might resemble a regular nightclub. But there’s nothing “regular” about this place, at least
not in my experience.

Between the low, sexy beat of the music, the décor that focuses on the color black and the fragrant flowers spread throughout the big room, every one of my senses is fully engaged. My skin tingles with the desire to know more, to see more, to experience it for myself.

I wonder if Hayden has figured out that I dodged his men. If so, is he worried about what kind of trouble
I might get into? What would he say if he knew where I am right now? Imagining his reaction makes me smile.

“I take it you like what you see,” Tenley says, misinterpreting my smile.

“I’m overwhelmed.”

She hands me a gin and tonic with a twist of lime. “Most people are the first time they come here. It’s a lot to take in if the scene is new to you.”
 

I raise my glass to her. “Cheers.”

“Cheers.”
She leans in closer to me. “Now how about you tell me what you’re really doing here, Addie.”

“What the fuck do you mean you
lost
her?” I’m overcome with rage and fear at hearing that Gordon’s men somehow managed to lose track of Addie.

“I’m so sorry, Hayden,” Gordon says, his tone tight with displeasure.
“My guys were on her. They followed her to her dad’s place in Redondo Beach, but she gave them the slip by leaving through a back door. We checked with the cab companies and Uber, and Uber will only tell us they made a pickup on the next block over around eight o’clock, but they won’t tell us who they picked up or where they took her. Calls to her cell phone are going right to voice mail, which
means it’s probably off.”