Page 45 of Single Malt

If my next choice was wrong, I’d put my sister in even more danger.

“We need to get inside,” I said.

“All right.”

I could feel her practically vibrating with tension. I wanted to reassure her that it would be okay, that I’d protect her, but I wasn’t certain that either of those things were true, and I didn’t know if I’d be able to convince myself of it, much less convince her.

I focused on what I needed to do. I remembered now what building we’d been passing, and even though I hadn’t had any classes here since freshman year, I knew where the door was. We’d need to go around the corner, but it’d only be a few steps from there to the door. A few steps, though, with an active shooter, could be a few too many.

An old picture flashed into my head. A teenage boy on the sidewalk near the doors of his school. He’d been holding them open for his classmates to escape when he’d been killed.

Aline and I had grown up in a post-Columbine, post 9/11 world. We’d been in school when the Virginia Tech and Newtown shootings happened. Even with the impressive security at the private school we’d gone to, we’d still had active shooter drills.

I hadn’t heard any additional gunshots, but I knew that didn’t mean this was over. The buzzing of my phone in my purse reminded me that Stanford had a messaging system to alert students and faculty of any emergencies. Once Aline and I were safely inside, I’d check it. She and I weren’t going to leave until we either received the all-clear via message or we were face-to-face with a police officer.

“We’re going around the corner and to the door,” I said, glancing back at Aline. “You stay between me and the wall, and we’re not stopping until we’re inside.”

She nodded, her eyes wide but not panicked.

“Let’s go.”

Twenty-Eight

Brody

My tripto New York was an unmitigated success, both professionally and personally. I’d spent time with my family as a group and one-on-one. Club Privé and the Mannings had been even better than I’d expected, and I looked forward to working with them. If my trip to San Antonio went half as well, I’d still consider it a win.

Until I’d learned about Club Privé, I’d never considered doing business with a sex club, but after seeing what the Mannings had created, I’d decided to do a little research in the cities already on my schedule. Just like with any other business, there would be good ones and bad ones, but I now had a comparison to go by.

I’d also talked to Gavin yesterday evening and gotten his take on the number-one-rated sex club in San Antonio. He’d told me that Black Masque was similar to Club Privé, and he’d only heard good things about them. That had been enough for me to schedule a visit.

I planned on further research during the flight. Keeping busy would prevent my mind from going where it had been wanting to go pretty much every unoccupied moment since New Year’s Eve. Each time I’d been with her had just made things worse. More things for me to remember over and over and over…

I sighed. Dammit.

I’d been one of those junior high kids who’d had ‘girlfriends’ every other month and bragged about stealing kisses under the bleachers. I’d lost my virginity in an embarrassingly short encounter with a sixteen-year-old two months after I’d turned fifteen. I hadn’t been a complete player, and I’d always treated women well, but I had slept with a fair number of women. I’d even had a couple threesomes.

But nothing I’d experienced with any other woman or women had ever stuck with me the way Freedom had. Every slightly erotic thought I’d had since that night had featured her.

I needed to get her out of my head. I’d been at Club Privé the other night long enough to have seen several gorgeous women in various states of undress. I’d appreciated the beauty, but that’d been the extent of my interest. Because all I could think of was how it’d felt to be inside Freedom, to hear her sighing my name.

And then I’d started thinking about what it would be like to be at a club like that with Freedom. I’d never really thought about BDSM before, and I didn’t think the majority of the lifestyle was for me, but a couple things had stuck with me. Things I might like to try with a partner at some point in the future.

Except, the only partner I could think of at the moment was Freedom.

She was the only one I could picture tying up, playing with, maybe even teasing her in public. I’d never want anyone else to see her naked, but the more I thought about it, the more I liked the idea of making her come in public, of knowing that I controlled her pleasure.

Research.

Right.

I needed to do research into Black Masque. Not because I wanted to think about what it would be like to be with Freedom there. At Club Privé, I’d had an idea about maybe making a whiskey specifically for a BDSM club, something that they could advertise as being exclusive to only a select number of clubs. Even come up with a name that would be related to the BDSM world. Learning about Black Masque could help me figure out where to go with that.

That was where my mind needed to be. Focused on business and the future.

I thanked the cab driver and headed into the airport. My flight didn’t leave for more than an hour, but I never knew how quickly I’d get through the lines. At some point, I planned on getting a private plane of my own like my brother Alec, but at the moment, I lived close enough to my parents to use their plane if I couldn’t find a flight when I needed one. For these trips, I’d been able to find the flights I’d needed and all with seats in first class.

Still, it would be nice not to have to go through all the regular security shit when I wanted an early flight. I couldn’t cut the drive from my hotels to the airports, but taking an extra hour off my travel time would be nice.