From Sanctum With Love (Masters and Mercenaries Book 10) (12 page)

She watched Serena walk away, likely back to the lounge section of the locker room where she and Avery O’Donnell kept a couple of comfy chairs. Serena would sit with her computer in her lap and type away.

And she would watch Kai with his brother and wish for that moment when he needed her again.

She quietly joined the others as Charlotte Taggart began her talk.

Twenty minutes later, she stepped out of the locker room to the sound of thudding industrial music. The sound soothed her, familiar and comforting. She looked around but Sanctum was still Sanctum. There might be a few extra people in the club, but it looked exactly the same otherwise. Somehow she’d worried she would step out and find the dungeon had changed.

“Did Lady Taggart give you the speech on respecting famous people because they sometimes have small penises and that means they want to be left alone?” Vince hurried up to where she and Sarah and Mia stood. A broad grin was on his face. “Because that was pretty much how Lord Taggart put it. He also said something about the first sub who screamed or fainted at the sight of some douchebag actor in a pair of leathers would spend the next month lighting the hamster wheel up. And the awesome part was Jared Johns was actually in the locker room when he said it. I love Master Ian. I think I would go gay for him if he had a vagina.”

“If he had a vagina you wouldn’t be gay,” Sarah pointed out. “And Charlotte talked a whole bunch about how men can be sexually harassed, too, but I was mostly thinking about how hot his character on
Dart
is. Do you think he can really kill two men with one dart?”

“I don’t understand why he doesn’t pick up a gun,” Mia said with a shake of her head as she looked out over the dungeon. “That would be way easier than darts.”

“It’s a metaphor,” Kori muttered. Everyone was a critic. “And it was also a comic book at one point. Those fan boys and girls can get vicious when they think the source material isn’t being respected. Who’s here tonight?”

She needed a single Dom, or one of the marrieds whose wife didn’t mind celibate play.

“A bunch of the MT group is out of town. Simon and Jesse are in California and Liam O’Donnell is on vacation in the Caribbean somewhere,” Vince explained.

“Doesn’t that strike you as weird?” Mia asked. “I would think it would be too soon.”

“Too soon after what?” Sarah asked.

“Too soon after they lost a teammate in that part of the world,” Mia whispered. “It seems odd that Theo Taggart died there and now Liam O’Donnell is taking his wife and kid for a vacay.”

“The Caribbean is a big place,” Sarah replied. “I’m sure it’s not the same island.”

“And I heard they weren’t in the Caribbean.” She’d overheard Liam talking to Kai about the upcoming trip. “I think they’re going to South America. Argentina, maybe. They probably changed plans at the last minute because it’s definitely too soon.”

Everyone missed Theo. His absence was a giant hole that no one was going to be able to fill. Theo’s death had led to Erin’s absence at the club and many of the MT group taking time off.

She missed them. Even when they were here now it was easy to see they were still grieving.

“I was looking for you, pretty girl. Might I say you’re looking lovely tonight,” a deep voice said.

She turned and there was Jared. Someone had Dommed that boy up. He was wearing a pair of leathers that somehow sat perfectly on his hips so they showed off those honed notches. And his six-pack was really more of an eight-pack. A black leather vest framed his torso, showing off cut biceps and broad shoulders. He had the most gorgeous scruff.

The man was stunning and he still had nothing on Kai. Kai didn’t have a trainer with him twenty-four seven and no one followed around after him making sure his scruff didn’t turn into a beard and his hair was always the perfect length. Kai’s hair often got too long. He would get involved with his patients and writing academic papers and he would forget things like grooming, and Kori had to make sure he got to the barber. Sometimes she cut it herself because he didn’t want to take the time.

“Hey, when you mentioned you were going to a club, I kind of thought it would be a nightclub.” He could have been clearer on that.

He shrugged, a boyish mischief lighting his eyes. “I wanted to surprise you. I will admit that I knew you were a member. I also know you don’t have a Dom. I guess I was hoping you would show me around.”

Sarah leaned over, whispering in her ear. “I am fairly certain my ovaries just spit out an egg.”

Kori sighed. “Jared, this is my friend Sarah, and this is Mia and Vince. Guys, this is Jared, who is a regular human being who likely doesn’t want to be drooled on.”

His high-voltage smile ticked up a notch as he held out a hand to Sarah. “Hey, I never say never. Hello, Sarah.”

He shook hands with them each in turn, but Kori was almost certain he’d held Sarah’s the tiniest bit longer than the rest. When he was done, he nodded to the men standing behind him. Yeah, she hadn’t noticed them. Two were dressed in casual clothes and the other, a shorter, thinner man, looked a little uncomfortable in his leathers. “These are my friends, Squirrel, Tad and Brad.”

Dear god, it was the cast of
Entourage
. They’d gotten that show right. “Let me guess, Squirrel is the childhood friend who now keeps you company. Tad has that publicist vibe about him and Brad is the decathlete turned trainer to the stars.”

Brad frowned. “Triathlete. I did the Ironman in eight twenty.”

Vince’s eyes went wide. “He did Ironman? I kind of thought that dude was straight.”

Jared laughed, his whole face lighting up. “He’s talking about a triathlon, not Robert Downey Jr. And Kori is spot on. Tad is my PR guy and Squirrel and I have been best friends since third grade. He travels with me. Keeps me grounded.”

“And out of trouble,” the soft-spoken Squirrel said. “He needs someone to play Xbox with or he tends to get grumpy.”

“No Lena today?” She and Bolt seemed to be the only two missing.

“I asked her to stay at the hotel. I’m afraid this is not her scene.” Jared looked out over the dungeon floor in a way that made Kori think it
was
his scene.

He seemed awfully comfy in those leathers.

“She threw a hissy fit about all of this being abusive and how Jared needs to focus on real films,” Squirrel replied. “I swear she can hit a tone with her voice that makes my brain bleed.”

“Don’t listen to that crazy bitch,” Tad said. “This movie’s going to make millions. Women go for this shit.”

Jared’s eyes turned stony. “How about we don’t call it shit? Why don’t you and Brad go hang out in the bar? Or if you’re uncomfortable, feel free to head back to the hotel. I’m going to be spending a lot of time here and I don’t need anyone getting in the way of connecting with this character.”

“I’ll hang out.” Brad glanced around. “It looks interesting.”

“And I need to think about how we can spin this.” Tad pulled out his phone and started scrolling through as he walked toward the bar.

Squirrel sighed. “I’ll go make sure they don’t horrifically embarrass us.”

Jared put a hand on Squirrel’s shoulder. “Thank you, buddy. Explain to him if he takes any video or pictures in this place, that former military men will likely visit him in the middle of the night and it won’t be to party.” He looked back at the group as his friends walked away. “Do you mind if I steal Kori for a minute?”

“As long as you bring her back eventually,” Sarah said with a laugh. “Soon.”

Mia was watching Jared, her eyes serious. “We know where she is and who she’s with. That’s important, you know. You have to know that you have people looking out for you.”

“Yeah, that is good to know. I’ll catch up to you guys, and seriously, don’t let Mia do stupid things.” When the hell had Mia gotten all serious and mother henny? She stepped away and found herself walking beside Jared. “What can I do for you?”

“I can think of a whole lot you could do, but I’m trying to make things right with my brother so I’ll go with show me around.” He held out an arm as though offering to escort her like she was a lady at a ball.

It would be rude, she supposed, to tell him she was perfectly capable of walking on her own. She’d been told by Charlotte that all subs were to be polite. Damn it. She glanced around. Where the hell was Kai? “I suspect you’ve already been here. Are you trying to tell me this is the first time you’ve been inside Sanctum?”

“You’ve got me there.” He stopped in front of the steps that led up to the main level. “I did a walk-through with the guy who runs the place, but he was very academic about everything. I want to see it all through the eyes of someone who loves it here. How long have you been a member?”

“Shouldn’t you be doing all of this with Kai?”

“He kind of ditched me,” Jared admitted. “I got held up in the locker room and he was gone when I came out. Not sure where. I think he thinks if I can’t find him he doesn’t have to talk to me, but I can be patient. This is one of the nicest clubs I’ve ever been to. I like it here.”

She had to stop and stare at him for a moment. “Are you trying to tell me you’ve been to a BDSM club before?”

“Many. I’ve found the owners and members of BDSM clubs are way more into protecting my privacy than any other place I could relax. Also, most other places I would relax at frown on me spanking the girl of my choice. Sometimes the boy. I don’t discriminate.”

“You’re bi?”

“No, I’m a Dom and if a male sub asks for discipline, I’ll hand it out. I make it very easy. I don’t have sex with anyone I’m topping in a club. That’s not to say I don’t have sex. I’m over the idea of casual sex, that’s all.”

“I thought you had a girlfriend. I know you said it was a professional relationship, but I thought it involved sex.”

“Not at all. Jessica is one of the most beautiful women in the world, and her sexual habits would get her in trouble. I hesitate to involve any woman I’m really attracted to in my insane life, so it works out and keeps the press off our backs. We do red carpets together and a couple of times a year, we go to Mexico and let the paparazzi photograph us holding hands, and then we go back to the hotel and watch movies and drink beer. Every now and then she’ll break down and have a cheeseburger and we have to deal with pregnancy rumors, but otherwise, we handle things.” He frowned as though realizing he’d said too much. “I shouldn’t have told you that. Kori…”

She held a hand up. “I would never tell. I know how hard that life can be. You don’t have to worry about me gossiping. I never worked with her, but I hear she’s a nice lady.”

“Thank you. I forget when I’m in a situation like this. A place like this. It can feel safe. I have to remind myself that I’m not here to play. I’m here to work and that means putting the mask on. Shall we?” He nodded at the stairs.

“Of course.” She let him lead her up to the second level of the club. “How did you get involved in the lifestyle?”

“I wanted to feel close to my brother. That sounds pathetic, but it’s true. I’ve spent my whole life following Kai around and trying desperately to get his attention. Thirty something years in and nothing has changed. He’s still the man I want to be proud of me. Anyway, he was into this lifestyle so I looked into it. I enjoyed it on a physical level for a long time. It wasn’t until I hit the big time that I realized what a sanctuary it could be for me. Your turn.”

She hesitated. Talking about how she’d gotten into the lifestyle meant dredging up all those old memories.

“Hey, sorry,” Jared said with a grimace. “It’s got something to do with why you left the business, doesn’t it?”

She nodded.

“Then tell me about Sanctum. Tell me how it’s different.”

He was oddly easy to talk to, but then he reminded her more of Kai now. She could see it in the way they both smiled, in the set of their shoulders. But mostly it was in the way he put her at ease. “I guess if I had to break it down it would be the people. Don’t get me wrong. This is absolutely the swankiest club I’ve ever been in. Most of them are industrial spaces or renovated homes. After the first Sanctum blew up, Big Tag went all out on this one.”

Jared stopped. “It blew up? I hadn’t heard that. Was it a gas leak?”

“Oh, no. It was a brainwashed asshole. Kai was pissed because he was living over the club at the time. I like our new building. We’ve got a lot more room.”

Jared shook his head. “I thought he was expanding when he bought that building. I didn’t realize it was because his office had blown up. Thank god he wasn’t there at the time.”

“Oh, he was there. He ended up getting nearly buried with Big Tag and this CIA agent, and he was pissy for days about his back being sore. I finally managed to get him to go see a massage therapist because when that man is grumpy he takes it all out on me.” She was warming up to her subject. “I think it’s because of the whole therapist thing. He can’t exactly take it out on his patients. He has to look all calm and stuff and like he knows what he’s doing at all times. It makes him cranky, and who does he turn to? Naturally it’s me.”

Jared had stopped, his expression turning blank.

“He’s all right. It wasn’t that big a deal.” It had been a huge deal, but it was over.

“He didn’t call me. He almost died and he didn’t fucking call me. Would anyone have called me?”

“I’ve got a package set up with Ian in case I die or am incapacitated,” a familiar voice said. “Your number is there. He would have called you.”

She turned and Kai was standing there. She would never get over how different he looked. By day Kai was the deliciously attractive academic in his slacks and button-down, his golden hair tied back and his glasses on his face. He put in contacts for the dungeon and let his hair down. It flowed around his shoulders. It should have made him more feminine, but somehow all that gorgeous hair turned him into a decadent, dominant creature. The leathers showcased the lean body he hid behind khakis and Oxfords. He turned primal and so male.

Yeah, she’d probably spit out an egg, too. There was a lot of that going around tonight.