Strung Out (Needles and Pins #1) (50 page)

But Colt had shown up at the house to drop Seth off and had talked her into riding with him. She couldn’t come up with an excuse to refuse him. Now, after an evening observing his suave, flirty behavior, she was sure he had intentionally foiled her plans to take her own car.

Colt was a hotter than sin rock star.
Like Gage
. His every move was sexy.
Like Gage
. The husky rumble of his voice tingled and tickled some very deep places.
Like Gage
. He was funny and fun.
Like Gage
.

So why did she want to run the other direction?
Because he’s a rock star
. They were disturbed. She knew that better than anyone did. Her mother had never hidden the dirty details of her lineage.

In the dark confines of the car, she couldn’t see the tattoo on her wrist. But she could feel its presence.

Scarla’s father, punk rock legend Tyler Conterra, had died of an overdose after a history of drug abuse. At less than two years old, she’d been too young to remember him—not that her parents had married or that he’d been around much according to her mother. What Scarla
had
witnessed firsthand in later years was the ensuing montage of rocker boyfriends in and out of her mother’s life, each bringing along their own variety of destructive behavior and contributing to her mom’s alcohol and drug addictions. Gage’s father had been the only exception.

She tried to sneak a look at Colt, but he caught her assessment and curved a sexy grin. What was his vice? More importantly, she knew he had one, so why had she agreed to this date? Had her reasoning been as stupid and rebellious as Gage’s dark look and slight shake of his head when Colt had asked?

“Hey! Wasn’t that Gage’s house?” She was certain the gate whipping by her window had a winged dragon on it.

“I want to show you my place.”

“Oh, no!” Her heart pounded. “Not tonight, thank you.”
Thank you?
“I’m really tired and… yeah, tired. Really tired.”

“Gage warned you away from me, didn’t he?”

“No. In fact, I was going to cancel, and he talked me into it.”

“Why were you going to cancel?” His lip actually jutted out in semblance of a toddler’s pout.

“Something came up. See, I’m here in L.A. to see a friend and…” She trailed off, unwilling to tell him about Ivy and unsure where to ramble with that vague fib. So she did what she always did when cornered. Attacked. “Why would he warn me away from you? Should I have been warned?”

The car idled off the narrow street, in a private drive. The headlights illuminated the resident’s closed gate. His brows drew together, and he swung the vehicle back into the road the way they had come. “I have a reputation for treating women like Kleenexes.”

“Use them and throw them away.” She nodded, knowing the term. “That kind of goes with the territory, right?”
Rock star debauchery
.

“See, you get it.” His frown disappeared, and his smile returned. They bantered back and forth as he punched in the gate code, the dragon gate swung open, and they cruised up the drive. His glower returned when she jumped from the car instead of leaning in for a kiss when he took her hand.

After coming and going for almost a week, she knew the code for the keypad and pushed open the large entry door. She did, however, politely wait for Colt to catch up before entering the foyer.

Rascal barked a greeting, and his paws clipped the polished floor, the sound coming closer and closer until he pranced before them. She bent to pet him before following him down the hall and descending the stairway behind him to the media room. Runner lights along each level of seating flashed on when she pushed open the door.

Seth was stretched across the lounger pad with pillows scattered around him. Gage was draped in one of the cushy chairs with one leg resting on a matching ottoman.

If the chase scene onscreen was any indication, they were in the middle of an action flick. Gage waved her over, but Colt’s voice boomed from behind her when she would have taken the seat next to him.

“Not corrupting my kid are you, Remington?” He moved into the room, holding the beer he’d apparently detoured by the kitchen for. “This guy leaves the Playboy channel on for kids looking for cartoons to find.”

“Dad, seriously? Anime is not cartoons.”

“And neither is what you were watching in here the other day.”

Realizing she must have been the one to leave the receiver on the channel, she burned with embarrassment.

Gage broke in, interrupting. “Chill, Colt. I said I was sorry. It won’t happen again.” He hadn’t paused the movie yet. Perhaps he was hoping it would deflect the discussion if it continued to play.

He had kept his eyes averted from her during the exchange. But when she straightened her spine and squared her shoulders, determined to set the record straight, his gaze landed on hers, and his chin moved ever so slightly in a negative shake.

Colt and Seth left almost immediately, and she was still standing when she turned to Gage. “You shouldn’t have taken the blame. You have to live here.”

“Well, you’re living here for now. And you’re right. It’s stupid, but it
is
more accepted for men to be into it.”

She felt a tug in her chest—a déjà vu of Gage in older brother protective mode. Like when he’d stepped in front of her screaming mother and lied, saying he and his friends had trashed the den.

“I brought you the rest of my burger. It was giant.” She crossed to him. “My fries too.” Dropping to the chair beside him, she crossed her legs comfortably and munched on the fries as he ate the hamburger.

“How did tonight go?”

“Okay. It was good to get out. But I wasn’t in the mood for a date. And I think that may have pissed Colt off.”

She suddenly had his full attention. “Why? What did he do?”

“Nothing. I just mean I think he had a date night planned, and then I insisted we go to Rockin’ Reilly’s instead of the sushi place. And I wouldn’t even dance with him.”

She was certain she saw the quirk of a smirk, but he took the last sweet potato fry from her fingers, broke it in half, and then gave one-half back to her. ”Any leads on Ivy?” His half disappeared between his lips.

Tearing her gaze from what became a borderline erotic moment—watching him chew—she shook her head. “She wasn’t there. And I managed to ask a couple of the employees but they didn’t know of her. Any ideas what we do next?”

“Yeah. But you’re not going to like it.”

“W
hat goes on in there?” Scarla nervously eyed a tall wooden gate as Gage’s car rolled to a stop before it.

It rolled open, and a mansion-sized house sprawled down the mountain beyond. Instead of being lit up against the night like the cozy windows of neighboring houses, the stone structure seemed eerie.

“You wouldn’t believe—or maybe you would.” Her chin snapped up, and his grip flexed on the wheel. “Sorry. That was out of line. I’m nervous as hell.”

“Can we just ask about her and get out?”

“You don’t have to go in. I can take you back home and come back myself.”

“No. I need to. What if she’s there under a different name or something? I’ll recognize her.”

As the gate swished closed behind them, a man approached the car. “Membership?”

Gage pulled up a screen on his phone and tilted it to the man.

“Great. Drive around to the side entrance.”

Gage rolled up the window. “Here goes.” He braked near the designated entrance.

Another man manifested beside her door and waited to open it. Gage was given a ticket as if it were valet parking for a swanky restaurant. She shivered with nervousness after alighting from the vehicle, and he put an arm around her, pulling her close. She sensed he needed the comfort as much as she did.

Once inside, they were greeted by a woman with heavy layers of makeup, dressed as conservatively as a senator. Right when Scarla thought she’d misunderstood what this place was, two women passed through the room each outrageously dressed. Yep. Although private and discreet, this was a BDSM dungeon, or something similar. Both women openly appraised Gage with interest and the one carrying a whip even flicked it suggestively as she passed.

“Mr. Murdock.” The senator woman smiled. “Short notice but we can accommodate you.”

Scarla refrained from eyeing him in surprise. She hadn’t been aware he’d made any arrangements ahead of time. And Murdock. She knew it was common for celebrities to choose aliases with meaning to them, and Daredevil had been the comic Gage had been most obsessed with when he was a preteen.

Most essential, what did ‘accommodate him’ mean?

After a few pleasantries as if the woman were the host of an elite social event, she consulted the electronic tablet in her hand. “I have a room for you. Anyone you’re interested in? I’ll do my best to make them available.”

“Ivy.” Gage had dropped his arm from Scar as they entered, but now he brushed his hand against hers.

“Ivy?” The woman frowned in confusion. “There’s no Ivy here.”

Equal parts relief and disappointment assailed her senses.

“A different name?” The woman suggested, and Gage’s fingers wrapped around Scarla’s wrist, staying her instinctive reach for her phone and its pictures.

Instead, he described Ivy by her long blonde hair, and again, senator woman shook her head.

“Let me get you a catalog, and I’m sure you’ll find someone who interests you.”

Across the room, one of the girls who had passed earlier seemed more than curiously attentive. She knew something and was deciding whether to approach them. Scarla could feel it, and she nudged Gage.

Returning, the woman in charge was about to hand over an electronic tablet to Gage when she pulled up short. “Oh.” She followed the direction of their eyes. “Have you made up your mind then?”

Scarla had been about to rush over to the girl with questions but stopped when Gage nodded in that direction and replied, “Her.”

Remembering the party a couple of days ago when she’d been so far out of her element, she deferred to what he was doing. Which she supposed was getting the girl alone.

“I apologize. This should have come up when your reservation was made, but your credit card is expired. It won’t take but a moment to update that information.”

Her stomach heaved while she watched him swipe his card into the electronic tablet. Expired implied he’d been here before.
People really did this sort of thing? This was normal?
But she knew the answer. Gage had told her there were a few of these places in L.A. listed in the yellow pages. And many more discreet ones such as this were scattered around. This particular one was popular with celebrities.

The young woman was nodded over, and she smiled, putting out her hand when the introductions were made—again, as if this were a social event. Gage introduced himself as Matt and her as Lektra. The young woman introduced herself as Selina.

The room was only a short way down a hall. Selina closed them inside and motioned toward a sitting area and a table of snacks. Candles and sconces softened the ambiance. Still, it was hard to make a room such as this inviting.

A gurney resembling an examining table was in the corner. A rolling caddy of what appeared to be medical paraphernalia was close by. There was a large rack in the shape of an X against one wall, and what looked like a sawhorse—but it was short and covered with leather. Realizing it was a spanking bench when she spied the assortment of paddles and flogs hanging on the wall next to it, Scarla ripped her eyes away.

What was Gage’s plan here?

“So anything you want to share?” Selina smiled, passing the tray of crackers and spread. “You’ve been a member for a while, but haven’t visited. I’d love to get to know your likes and dislikes before we begin.”

Gage shifted in his chair, and for the first time, Scar felt an insecure vibe from him. One of his hands went up, forking through his hair, and he pulled his cap tighter on his head. His nervous gesture, for as long as she could remember.

When he cleared his throat but remained silent, Selina put the untouched tray down and leaned forward, propping her elbows on her bare knees. Scarla took in the shredded black hose, the high heels, and the short leather shorts. A chain was threaded into the belt loops. Her lacey lingerie was visible beneath a black leather vest, and two ponytails clipped her hair on each side of her head. Scarla knew she’d been staring too long, so she didn’t count the piercings on the woman’s face.

“You mentioned wax in your phone interview. Will it be your first time?”

Wax. Like waxing? A Brazilian wax? Scarla’s mind went wild.

“Yeah. My first time. That’s why I was hoping Ivy would be here. I know of her. And… a friend told me she’d be here.”

Good. Gage was steering the conversation.

“No, Ivy has never worked here.” Selina divulged.

“Do you know of her though?”

“I think I do know who you’re speaking of.”

Scarla straightened in her chair and focused on Selina. But the other woman stood. “Will both of you be participating?”

“No!” Gage pulled at his hair again. “She… she wants to watch.”