Page 112 of Love By Design

“Do you want a drink?” Lincoln asked, mouth warm against my ear.

He’d dressed to cruise in short black shorts, black leather boots, and a mesh tank top that basically exposed his entire chest, nipple and navel rings included.

“Wine,” I answered.

“I’ll come find you! Scope me out a winner!”

I nodded, stare still fixated on the private playroom. I didn’t want to go in there, but my legs carried me there anyway. Inside, I found far more people than my last visit, what appeared to be a group of friends. They laughed and talked, having a good time. A man stood in the corner of the room,dressed in all black, and completely alone. He was either an asshole or a voyeur, I imagined. Maybe both. At some point, one of the men in the friend group pulled another to his feet and walked him over to the spanking bench I’d found myself over the last time at Rapture.

I watched them talk. Negotiate. And then I watched them start a scene.

“They’re nice to look at, aren’t they?” An almost familiar voice startled me from behind. I’d been expecting Lincoln with a glass of wine, but instead found a blond man closer to forty, soft-looking hair and broad shoulders. He wore a pair of dark denim jeans and a white t-shirt, a wedding band on his left hand and a leather cuff on his right wrist.

“Uhm. Yeah,” I said.

“We’ve never met,” the man said, extending a hand toward me. “But we talked on the phone. I’m Landon Miller.”

“This is your club,” I said dumbly, shaking his hand.

“I hope you don’t mind, but security let me know when you arrived, and I just wanted to come find you. Thank you for coming back and taking another chance on us.”

“Oh, it’s really…I was happy to eat Thai on the couch all night, but my best friend wanted to come,” I blurted. “Not that I’ve been avoiding the place. It’s fine. You were great. It’s great.”

Landon gave me a shy—but somehow knowing—smile. “Message received. I only wanted to introduce myself in person and let you know if you need anything to come find me. If you can’t, let any of the bartenders know, and they will.”

“I appreciate that,” I murmured. “Did Marshall put you up to this?”

Landon squinted, cocking his head to the side. “Who?”

“Nothing. My boyfriend.”

“No one put me up to anything, Silas. I just want to make sure everyone here is comfortable and safe.” He gesturedtoward the asshole voyeur in the corner with a quick jerk of his chin. The man responded with a sharp nod. “And like I said, we’re observing more closely now to make sure we’re living up to our promises as a risk-aware space.”

So he was an employee, not a prick.

Though, he could have been both.

“I’m…I’m sorry, I just. This is all great. I’m really fine, though. I don’t want to make a big deal.”

Landon held up his hands and took a step back, cheeks almost pink, but it was hard to tell under the glow of the stained glass. “Again, message received, Silas. I hope you and your friend have a good night.”

I nodded, watching Landon head toward the bar. He passed Lincoln, who made a show of shaking his hips extra as he sashayed his way through the crowd with a drink in each hand. Dancing bodies parted for him, their stares trailing up his backside as he closed the space between us. Then he was there, and the wine was in my hand, my best friend was at my side, and all was well in the world again.

“Find me anyone good?” he asked.

“Didn’t have a chance to look. Just had a chat with the owner.”

“The owner?” Lincoln’s eyes went wide, and he lifted his whiskey to his mouth like it was tea. Pinky out and all that.

“He wanted to make sure I was sorted after what happened the last time.”

My best friend groaned, and I wanted to match the feeling.

“We can go look now, though. Did you see anyone good on the dance floor?”

“Maybe, but it’s hard to tell who is a couple and who isn’t,” he said.

“You know as well as I do that couples can be looking too.”