Total pages in book: 106
Estimated words: 105231 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 526(@200wpm)___ 421(@250wpm)___ 351(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105231 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 526(@200wpm)___ 421(@250wpm)___ 351(@300wpm)
All hers.
30
Caren took hold of Rory’s hand as they exited the office at Whip It. They’d come early to go over the paperwork and give Rory time to settle in.
Kane, the new manager of the BDSM club, had met them there. Apparently, he’d met Rory the other day when she’d arrived. And he seemed to be very interested in her welfare.
Which, she’d noted, hadn’t made Jace all that happy. The other guy had spent most of his time glaring at Kane as he’d talked to Rory.
Kane seemed amused, while Rory didn’t even seem to notice.
She wondered if Rory was aware that Jace had feelings for her. It seemed obvious to Caren. He couldn’t take his eyes off her, every time someone else got close to her, he grew tense, and he insisted on following her around.
Yep. He had it bad.
But tonight wasn’t about Jace’s feelings. It was about Rory. She was already pale and shaking.
Caren squeezed Rory’s hand as they headed toward the main area of the club. They stopped just outside a large door that she guessed must lead into the club. “You don’t have to do this tonight, you know. You’ve only been here a few days. You don’t have to rush into anything. No one is going to think any worse of you. This is so brave of you to just be here.”
“Caren is right. This is too soon,” Jace said from behind them. “You’re going home now.”
Lord. Another bossy Andrews brother.
Caren shot Jace a look. “Actually, that’s up to Rory to decide. I just wanted her to know that we aren’t going to be upset if she decides this is too soon.”
Jace huffed out a sigh. Kane gave Rory a worried look while Travis just sent Caren a wink. She wasn’t quite sure what that meant, but she was guessing he was giving her his approval.
Which actually meant a lot.
“Thanks, Caren,” Rory told her with a shaky smile, glancing over her shoulder to Jace, then Kane.
Very interesting.
“I just . . . I feel like if I leave now then I might not find the courage to return. You know? I don’t think that I want to do anything. I just want to walk around. Is that okay?” Rory asked.
“Whatever you want, sweetheart,” Kane said to her.
“Don’t you have work to do?” Jace demanded.
Caren glanced over at Jace who was scowling at Kane.
“Jace,” Rory said in a surprised voice. “That wasn’t very nice.”
“No, Jace,” Travis added. “Not nice at all.”
Jace just frowned at them all. And then Rory took a deep breath and reached for the door handle.
To Caren’s surprise, Jace stepped past them both and gently nudged Rory to one side. Then he took her free hand in his large one and opened the door.
Hmm.
Travis walked up to Caren, wrapping his arm around her.
“Somehow, I don’t think either of us are needed,” she said to him as they walked into the club behind Rory and Jace.
“I don’t know . . . I think she needs you here in particular. And I promised Gray and Lacey to watch her carefully.”
She nodded, smiling reassuringly as Rory turned to glance back at them. She could see how tense the other woman was.
Maybe Travis was right. Rory did need her here.
The club was still pretty quiet. But it meant that she got a good look around. It was a large space with plenty of different areas set around the room. The lighting was dim in some parts and brighter in others.
She jumped at the sound of a whip cracking and glanced over to find a male sub tied to a St. Andrews cross. The Domme behind him cracked the whip again, not landing it against his skin.
“That’s Lana,” Travis told her. “She’s just warming up. Dan is the sub, he’s a masochist who loves the anticipation of hearing the whip crack.”
Right.
Good to know.
She was aware of a few curious looks as they moved around the room.
“There’s a quiet room off in that direction.” Travis pointed to a set of large double doors. “You can get a drink in there if you want, but there’s a two-drink maximum for everyone. There are also booths in there for talking and negotiating.”
She nodded as they followed Jace and Rory slowly around. She looked back but Kane had stopped to talk to Tyler who waved at her. There were a number of women staring at him and smiling.
“Tyler’s working as a monitor tonight,” Travis told her, glancing back at his brother.
“He seems to have quite the entourage.”
Travis snorted. “Yeah, he’s popular.”
“How many monitors are there?”
“More than there were when Rory was taken.” Travis scowled. “That fucker should never have been able to take her. There are always six monitors on this floor. Upstairs there are private areas. There are still monitors at the entrance to the stairs to check on everyone going up there and there are panic buttons in each room as well as a monitor who regularly checks audio and visual for each room. But there’s more privacy up there than down here.”