Page 5

I was up and fluttering around my apartment by ten the next morning.

After the day of work, followed by the late night at Lustz yesterday, I should’ve been out until noon or later.

However, I felt energized.

By noon, I’d cleaned my entire apartment, done a load of laundry, had the second one in the wash, and was working on writing out my grocery list.

Once I finished that, the rest of the weekend was mine to enjoy.

Before meeting Carver, I planned to spend my leisure time reading and catching up on my favorite television shows.

Now, a part of me wished I was seeing Carver again, but I knew it was too soon for us to arrange a coffee date.

I didn’t want to call him and appear desperate or like a creeper.

Resisting the urge, as soon as I had my list, I changed my clothes and headed to the store.

My first stop was the healthy place, as some called it, because it had whole foods and other more nutritious items than others.

I liked to get all my produce there and several different things.

It seemed to have better quality, had what I wanted, and lasted longer.

I pushed my cart around the store, ensuring I got what was on my list and checking out the other items I might want to add.

I liked some variety in my diet, so it didn’t get boring.

Putting a container of quinoa in my cart reminded me of shopping when I was with Germain.

He detested when I spent money on what he called bullshit rabbit food.

He argued that what I bought wasn’t better for us.

The doctors and companies were lying to us.

I’d tried to show him it wasn’t.

For God’s sake, I was a nurse.

I learned about nutrition and proper diets in school.

When I told him this, he rolled his eyes and said those schools were perpetuating the lies, and stupid people like me continued to believe them.

When I couldn’t change his mind, I stopped trying, but I kept buying and eating the healthier stuff for myself.

If he wanted to eat high-fat, too much protein, and high-glycemic carbohydrates for every meal and die from obesity, stroke, or a heart attack by the time he was forty-five, that was on him.

The problem was he’d been able to maintain his weight by eating that way for a long time, so it fed his thinking.

However, his health was no longer my worry.

I was studying the fruits available.

I was jarred from my contemplation by my cart being lightly smacked.

Figuring someone wasn’t aware of how close we were, I ignored it.

When it happened again, I swiveled my head ninety degrees to see what the problem was.

If I were in someone’s way, all they had to do was say excuse me, and I’d move.

I inhaled deeply when my gaze landed on the person next to me.

It wasn’t anyone I’d expect to see here, so a coincidence seemed impossible.

Reef was staring at me.

He smiled when he noticed I was looking at him.

“Hey there, Venus. I didn’t know you lived around here. What’re the odds of us living and shopping in the same area?”

he asked pleasantly.

The hairs on the back of my neck rose. I didn’t believe this occurrence was by chance. We’d never talked about where we lived during our time together, but it would be doubtful we did. We hadn’t had that type of connection to share that.

“It’s probably a million to one. I had no idea you lived in Mt. Juliet. How long have you lived here?” I asked.

“Oh, it seems like forever. It’s been years.”

“Well, let me move so you can reach what you need. Have a nice day,”

I said, though I didn’t mean it. I grabbed my cart and moved it to go around him. As I passed him, he caught my arm.

“Where are you going? Don’t run off. We need to talk. We didn’t get a chance last night. I think we were both in the wrong frame of mind. Why don’t we go somewhere, have lunch or an early dinner, and talk? I don’t have anything cold, but we can stop by your place so you can drop yours off.”

He gestured to the yogurt, milk, and chicken I had in my cart.

There was no way I was going anywhere with him or letting him know where I lived. Although, I had this niggling of doubt in my stomach that if he was here, and I was right about him not living nearby, he already knew where I lived. Was I being paranoid?

“Listen, I appreciate the offer, but I have a busy day planned. And I can’t think of anything we need to discuss, Reef. We agreed to try, and we did. We put in the contract that either party was free to call an end to it without notice. There’s nothing more to do but move on. It’s not working for me. I hope there are no hard feelings.”

“I disagree. You didn’t give it a chance. I want us to continue. If we change to being more than innocent play partners, you’ll see what I do. We can be perfect together.”

A shiver of dread went through me. Oh my God, it was every person’s worst nightmare when joining any club or organization, having someone fixate on you and refuse to take no for an answer.

Some people might say that was what you got for being a part of a kink club.

However, that was a risk, no matter what kind of club or gathering spot it was.

Many individuals have been targeted by someone from church, the gym, a restaurant, a nightclub, or even at work.

I’d lay odds it was less prevalent in a place like Lustz.

Everyone had to pass a background check, be interviewed, and complete orientation there.

The same wasn’t true of the other places.

And in all the time I spent in the club in Pensacola, I never had this happen.

There had been men and women who wanted me to have relationships with them, whether it was a play-only kind or not.

When I told them no, they didn’t suddenly appear in my neighborhood grocery store.

Plus, something in the gleam in his eyes told me Reef was dangerous, and he had orchestrated this meeting.

Not wanting to cause a scene unless I had no choice, I racked my brain to think of what I could do to escape him.

Finally, I smiled and waved toward a woman standing a distance away.

“Hi, I’ll be right there,”

I called to her.

Without another word, I shook his hand loose and rushed to her. When I reached her, she looked up at me, confused. I didn’t want Reef to see it.

“Please, I need your help. See that man in the red shirt behind me? He’s bugging me, and I’m scared of him. I’m pretty sure he followed me here. He doesn’t live in the area that I know of. Will you pretend we know each other and are going somewhere together?”

I rattled off as quickly and quietly as I could. I didn’t want to keep checking over my shoulder.

Her eyes widened, and she peeked over my left shoulder at him. Then she smiled and put her arm around me.

“Girl, I’m so glad you’re almost done. Are you ready to get our nails done? Enough of this grocery shopping. Let’s get what we have and get out of here. I don’t want to miss our appointments,”

she said loudly.

Then, moving so her mouth wasn’t visible, she whispered, “My name is Sharlena.”

“Thank you, Sharlena. My name is Alex.”

“He’s creeping this way. Let’s go,”

she added before moving off.

We walked side by side with our carts. We chatted about the items in our carts and what shade of nail polish we planned to get. We were close to the checkout lanes when I noticed Reef storming out the door. He didn’t have a thing in his hands. The small basket he’d been carrying was gone. I sagged in relief.

“Thank you so much. He’s gone.”

“He might only be outside waiting for you to leave so he can follow you home. He thinks we know each other and are leaving together. Why don’t we get what we have and go? We’ll leave at the same time. We can drive somewhere to see if you’re being followed.”

“You’d do that?”

“Hell yeah, we women have to stick together.”

“Where would we go? I don’t want to chance leading him to your place or mine.”

She thought for a few moments and then smiled. “I know where we can go. If he follows us there, he’ll get the surprise of his life. Hurry, put my number in your phone and message me so I have yours. I’ll send you the address in case we get separated.”

Ten minutes later, we exited together. I had to work not to scan the parking lot like I was scared. She ended up parked not far from me. After loading our groceries into our cars, I hollered that we’d meet at my place. I brought up the address on my phone and then pulled out. She was waiting for me. The streets were busy, so I was glad she gave me the address. We did end up losing sight of each other a couple of times. I kept scanning behind me to see if I saw any vehicles following me, but it was impossible to tell. There were too many.

By the time I arrived at the address, I was a tense mess. It was in a neighborhood not far from my apartment. It was filled with family homes. The one I was stopping in front of, behind Sharlena’s car, was a cute cream-colored house with dark blue shutters and front door. Getting out, I looked around. I didn’t see any vehicles other than those parked in driveways, but several streets converged into this one.

I got out, and Sharlena walked back to me and took my hand. “I don’t see anyone, but let’s take your cold stuff inside, just in case. If he’s watching, we want him to think this is your house,” she said.

“Sharlena, I appreciate what you’ve done, but I can’t do that. I shouldn’t have come here. What if he is watching and thinks it’s mine? I don’t trust him not to try to break in. I’m not doing that to someone. Who lives here anyway?”

She glanced toward the house and smiled. I followed her gaze and gulped. Coming out of the door and down the sidewalk was a big guy. He was dressed in jeans and a T-shirt. His arms were covered in tattoos. He was tall and frowning, but the frown didn’t detract from the fact that he was a good-looking guy. If I hadn’t met Carver, I might’ve wanted to flirt with this one.

“What the hell are you doing lurking outside, Shar? Get your ass in the house. And who’s this with you?”

he asked. I saw him checking me out.

“Shush. I’ll explain in a minute. Go back inside,”

she hissed.

To my surprise, he did it, but not without scowling at her. She and I hurried to get the bag with my cold items. I felt silly walking into a stranger’s house with my food. He’d think I was nuts. However, knowing a large, scary man lived here made me feel better about potentially leading Reef there.

As soon as we entered, Sharlena shut and locked the door. I let her lead me through to the kitchen. The man was standing by the island, shaking his head.

“I swear to God, what have you done now? Are you in trouble? And who’s your friend?”

She went to the fridge and put the bag in it before answering him. I stood there, not knowing what to do or say. Talk about awkwardness. When she was done, she came back to stand beside me.

“Alright, Mr. Impatient, I’ll explain. This is Alex. We met at the grocery store. She asked for my help because a man was following her. She was afraid he was stalking her. She asked me to pretend we knew each other so he’d go away. I did. When we left the store, which we saw him leave before us, we were concerned he might be out there waiting for her so he could follow her home. I’d told her I had a place we could go. I brought her here.”

“You just met today and thought this was the place to bring a stranger. What if she’s part of some ruse? You’re so gullible, Shar,”

he groaned.

“Listen, I know this sounds implausible, but I swear it’s not. I’m not part of some ruse to get into your house and rob you later. I didn’t know how to get rid of him. The chance of him accidentally running into me, and we live in the same area, is very improbable. I’m not here to cause trouble. Sharlena, thank you for your help, but I think I should take my things and go. I didn’t see anyone on the street, so we’re safe. Sir, I’m sorry to have intruded,”

I said to him.

I took two steps toward the fridge when I was halted by his following words.

“Hold it. You’re not going anywhere until I know you’re safe. If you’re telling the truth, and it sounds like you are, then who is this man? It’s clear he was no stranger.”

I wasn’t about to tell them exactly where I knew Reef from, but I could tell the bare facts. I owed them that, at least.

“Hold on, I think before we do that, you need to introduce yourself,”

Sharlena demanded of him.

“For once, my little sister is right. I’m Sawyer. And you’re Alex?”

“Yes, I’m Alex. I wish we were meeting under different circumstances. I know this is unbelievable.”

“Believe it or not, I’ve heard more unbelievable tales. Have a seat. Tell us how you know this man. Would you like something to drink?”

I declined, but I did sit on one of the stools at the island. His sister sat beside me, and Sawyer stayed standing across the island from us.

“You’re right. I do know the man, although not well. He and I are members of a club. We met there. Last night, I was there. I told him that we weren’t going to continue to associate. He didn’t like it. I thought he accepted it until I ran into him at the store. I’ve lived here for almost eight months and go to that store every weekend. I’ve never seen him there or anywhere else I go in town. He claimed he lives here. I don’t believe it. I think he followed me home, maybe last night, and then saw me leave my place today. If that’s the case, coming here was for nothing. He’ll know I don’t live here.”

I shivered at the thought.

“Hang on. Don’t go freaking yourself out more. I don’t mean to pry, but what kind of club was it, and what do you mean by associate?”

I thought over what he was asking. Did I just blurt out where and such? I found a lot of people were very uneducated and prejudiced about clubs like Lustz, and they assumed everyone who was part of one was a deviant. I’d seen it change people’s opinion of me just by knowing I was part of one. It was why I generally didn’t talk about it. However, I did bring a potential problem to his doorstep. I owed it to both of them to let them know.

“It’s the House of Lustz. We’re both patrons there. We met and set up to do scenes together. They didn’t work out, so I told him no more. He wants to continue them and to add sex to them.”

Sharlena gasped. Sawyer’s eyes widened a fraction, although his expression remained calm. I steeled myself for the reaction and comments. It was clear they were both familiar with Lustz and what it was.

“I hear that’s the best club of its kind in Nashville, hell, for miles around. It has always intrigued me. I thought about checking it out, but have no idea how to go about it,”

Sawyer said calmly.

“You can’t do that!”

Sharlena exclaimed.

“Why the hell not?” he asked.

“Because I want to, and having my brother there would be weird and gross.”

“As if having my sister there wouldn’t be? Nope, I called it first.”

I listened as they bantered back and forth. They surprised me and made me want to laugh at their reaction. They seemed to be cool with it. Finally, I broke in on their argument.

“I have a friend who’s a member, and so is her brother. I believe they coordinate when one or the other is there, so they don’t see anything they shouldn’t. But honestly, there’s more play that happens there than outright sex. Some people only go to watch. Others to do scenes. Not all of those scenes or playing involve sex.”

“I have so many questions, but those will have to wait. So this guy was a scene partner?”

Sharlena asked.

“Yes, we met and did three scenes there. It was all defined—what we would and wouldn’t do. In the contract, it was clear that either of us could call it quits at any time. That’s what I did last night. However, he seems to think we should make it more than platonic play, and I’ll see that we’re good together. I have zero desire to do that. Honestly, I’m freaked that he showed up in my neighborhood.”

“Have you both been members for long?”

Sawyer asked.

“I don’t know how long he has. I’ve been there for almost four months. I moved last year from Florida. I belonged to a club there and was recommended to Lustz. Truly, I’m sorry I got you involved in this. Sharlena, I panicked, and you were the only one I saw that I thought could help. However, I think I should head home now that I’ve calmed down. If he comes there, I’ll have the police deal with him. Thank you both for helping.”

I slid off the stool. She patted my arm and told me not to be sorry. Sawyer, on the other hand, came around to stand by me. I had to crane my neck to look up at him. He was frowning.

“Hold on. Don’t rush off. We still need to make sure you’re safe. And while the police can possibly help, there are other steps we can take. I won’t be able to sleep knowing you might be in danger. Why don’t the three of us go to your place? Let me check it over. Do you have a security system? How are the locks? Do you live in a house or an apartment? If it’s an apartment, which level?”

He hit me so fast with those questions that I was left speechless. Sharlena laughed. “I promise he’s not a weirdo like… what’s his name?”

“Reef is his club name. Most of us don’t use our real names there. That’s all I know him by,”

I admitted.

“Okay, well, my brother isn’t a creep like Reef. He’s asking all those questions because he’s into security installations and other security stuff. It’s where his brain automatically goes. He did the same to my place when I moved in. He came and did the whole security check and ensured I had everything I needed.”

“Shar is right. You can’t be too careful, especially a woman who lives alone. Or do you not?” he asked.

“I do.”

“Then it’s even more important. There’s no time like now. Why don’t we go over? Shar, are you able to come? I think Alex would be more comfortable if you were there.”

And just like that, several minutes later, the three of us were on our way to my apartment.

I couldn’t believe how it happened.

However, I would feel better if someone who knew what they were doing would see if there were things I could do to increase my safety.

The final thing Sawyer recommended was that I inform the people who ran Lustz of the potential situation.

He advised me not to wait to see if I had more run-ins with Reef.

I didn’t want to cause issues for Reef at the club if I happened to be wrong, but my gut told me it wasn’t a one-time occurrence.

So, while I drove with the two of them following me, I placed a call.

I reached out to Tajah.

I didn’t know if I needed to inform Mikhail, Reuben, or someone else.

She would know.